Minister of Immigration Kareem Musa was also one of the speakers at the opening of the Diaspora Summit yesterday.
And while the Diaspora Summit talks about all kinds of engagement opportunities between those abroad and "those da yaad", what about voting? Immigration Minister Kareem Musa says he enthusiastically supports it:
REPORTER-
"What's your view on the criticism, participation from diaspora Belizeans should be limited in terms of the governance issues of Belize, because they don't live here?"
Kareem Musa, Minister of Immigration & Labour
"No, I don't agree with that, because I think that they should have a say, and I am on record as having said that when it comes to voting in our general elections and city council elections, that we need to consider a possible amendment to the law to remove that three-month residency requirement and to make room for diaspora Belizeans to be able to come and register to vote, because that is a barrier that prevents them from registering, because they can't say, 'I live at this address for the last three months,' they live abroad. And so if it is that we can amend the legislation to say, 'Hey, I live in Chicago, this is my address, here's proof of the fact that I live there, but this is my family home in Belize City, or this is my family home in Cayo, and I want to be able to register there,' a simple amendment to the law can provide for that for them to be able to come home and vote during an election. And so that would then open it up, at least as an initial step, in allowing diaspora Belizeans to have a say in our elections."
