BELMOPAN, Belize, CMC -Prime Minister John Briceño says Parliament will have to decide whether or not to accept the re-division exercise carried out by the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC).
The main opposition United Democratic Party in a statement said the EBC is “attempting to suppress the publication of the redistricting proposal it will present to Parliament on July 13, 2023”.
Further, the UDP says the EBC has no authority to invoke the Standing Orders of the House of Representatives and calls on the EBC to “rescind that preposterous press release and adhere to the Constitution of Belize, which allows for freedom of expression and should enshrine freedom of the press to publicly scrutinize and criticize this redistricting report that falls woefully short of the constitutional requirements.”
Prime Minister Briceño has confirmed that the re-division exercise carried out by the EBC to consider the distribution of Belize’s population and make provisions for dividing the country into at least 28 electoral divisions has been completed.
EBC will present a report with proposals to the National Assembly for it to be given to the House of Representatives. In an earlier release, the public was warned that any publication or dissemination of the report before it is placed in the National Assembly violates the privileges and Standing Order of the House of Representatives during this period.
“The process is that the committee hands it to the Elections & Boundaries Commission. They review it, and if they accept the recommendations or make any changes, then that will be tabled to the National Assembly,” said Prime Minister Briceño.
“I’m curious if the Prime Minister tables it or if it will be the Minister responsible for the Elections and Boundaries Commission. But the process is from the committee, the Elections and Boundaries Commission, and then it goes on to the National Assembly for debate and to be able to accept or not.”
Prime Minister Briceño said that while the EBC report had not been issued officially to any political party,” what has happened is that one member decided to hand it over to their political party.
“That should have stayed within them. But the thing is that, you know, we live in a vibrant democracy, and you can never please 100 percent. So you only require one person to say I’m unhappy and want to challenge it in court.
“What is important, and I’ve mentioned it to the Minister responsible for Elections and Boundaries Commission, which is Minister Henry Charles Usher, is that it is important that whatever comes to the House can withstand the scrutiny of the courts,” Briceño said.
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