BELMOPAN, Belize, CMC – The lawyer representing Opposition Leader Shyne Barrow says his client could be forced to resign his seat in the House of Representatives if he is found guilty of an electoral offense.
The Chief Magistrate is expected to hand down her ruling on November 24 in case the ruling People’s United Party (PUP) is challenging Barrow’s voter registration in the Mesopotamia Division.
Attorney Richard Bradley says Section 58 of the Belize Constitution disqualifies anyone from membership in the Parliament if convicted of an election-related offense.
Bradley argues that his client followed all legal requirements to be registered at the residence and has witnesses to confirm that he lives there.
But the PUP, through an attorney, Leeroy Banner, argues that Barrow did not and never resided at the place and that the address that Barrow gave as his residence is his political office and resource center.
But Bradley said the PUP has no case.
“The elections laws of the country and the Constitution of Belize lays down what would disqualify a person either from entering the nation’s Parliament, which is referred to under the law as the National Assembly or if you are already a member and if you are found to violate any election law, election offense, that person will have to resign,” he said.
He recalled that one of the witnesses had stated in court that the practice by Barrow had been done before and that former prime minister George Price was registered in his constituency even though he had been living “until his dying day” in another area.
He said the case initially came up for objection when the rolls for transfer were being revised. “The objectors did not show. The chief magistrate waited for them for hours, but they did not show. Now that the overall list is being revised, they have turned back up in an attempt to psych out the Leader of the Opposition and put him to some level of embarrassment because what they say has nothing to do with what the law requires,” Bradley said.
“The law is, did he reside at that address for at least two months before July? That is what this issue is all about. There is nothing in the law to say. I can’t sleep somewhere else. I can’t spend the night with my sweetheart.
“Just as an example. I’m not saying that is what happened. I can’t go and spend some time with my wife somewhere else. I told the Chief Honorable Chief Magistrate that after a person is added to the electoral roll, they can get up and go to the United States of America.
“There’s no law that says you have to hang around. You must be there. The issue is, was he a resident there? Can he still be a resident if he wants to sleep there overnight? Can he do so? And the answer is a resounding yes,” Bradley added.
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