It's not the first time the registration of more than a dozen voters in one house has been challenged in court, and today was Cayo North's turn. In political parlance, these are called safe houses - and neither red nor blue can claim not to utilize them to stack loyalists.
Bernz Mendez, a Cayo resident took the stand in the Belize City Magistrate's Court today in court to object to up to 60 registered voters in the Cayo North Constituency. But their submission was not successful. Jomarie Lanza tells us why:
68 objections to registered voters in the Cayo North Constituency were taken before the magistrate's court by the opposing party, claiming that two sets of registered voters, 19 of which sresided in the Cahal Pech area and another amount residing at the corner of Stanton and Benque Viejo Street were falsely registered to vote, and that none of these persons lived at these addresses. After several hours in court the opposing party withdrew their submission to challenge these objections, after they were unable to provide sufficient evidence to support their claims.
Collet Montejo, Deputy Secretary General, PUP
"These guys brought 60+ objections with absolutely no evidence absolutely no evidence."
Reporter-
"But is this something that commonly happens just that the evidence is not neatly put together."
Collet Montejo, Deputy Secretary General, PUP
"It's obvious that they scrambled and it would be best that you speak to them as to why they decided to bring these objections because the fact of the matter is that understanding the law and what it takes to get someone struck off the weight of the evidence has to come from them they were the ones that brought it."
Dickie Bradley, Attorney
"They brought 68 objections to the court. There is no court sitting for this week because of a major conference at Biltmore the persons and their mentors who signed forms objecting to persons were unable to satisfy the officer and in this case the magistrate, who is the revising officer for the voters list in San Ignacio. You all were in court you would see that some elementary matters could not be established Leeroy Banner who is the lead attorney in the matter had awaiting to come into the court the actual owners of these buildings."
"So that what transpired today was an objection to persons, and there there was no grounds on which two sustain the objections no grounds at all. So there was no evidence in front of the magistrate who is the person who revises the voters list. there was no evidence in front of her and that whole scenario was in fact properly strengthen because in the second set of objections the attorney for the other side and they say not to call any names. Was saying to the court I'm going to withdraw and he was instructed by the others no not to withdraw in the end he withdrew all the remaining objections so really what we came to court today is to waste the magistrates time."
And it continues to be an ongoing dispute between both parties when voter registration time rolls around. It's a race to see how many voters political operatives can transfer to their constituency. The opposing party left after the court session ended having withdrawn their case. Bradley says that its a difficult matter to address in the courts, but the only solution to it is to crack down in the elections and boundaries department
Dickie Bradley, Attorney
"And let us all be fair because we are not stupid people the two political parties they want to pad their voters list, they want to ask people to go and register at a house where they are only familiar with. That is why we have public officers who are paid by all of us the taxpayers to diligently check and see what is the situation. Why didn't they bring information to the magistrate? This is a highly trained highly experienced magistrate."
"I would want to see as an outsider that we need to revisit that section of the law and strengthen it. You can't come tell the owner or the land lord that someone doesn't live there but in this case that is not what happened."
Reporter-
"And the landlords will never cooperate."
Dickie Bradley, Attorney
"True, but there are ways as you can see to see whether someone lives there or not because he must live somewhere."
Reporter-
"If you have cameras, I think."
Dickie Bradley, Attorney
"Well, let's get cameras."
