1984 Belizean general election

1984 Belizean general election

←  1979 14 December 1984 1989  →
All 28 seats in the House of Representatives
Turnout	74.96%
First party Second party   Leader Manuel Esquivel George Cadle Price Party UDP PUP Last election 47.35%, 5 seats 52.44%, 13 seats Seats won 21 seats 7 seats Seat change 16 6 Popular vote 25,756 20,961 Percentage 54.07% 44.00% Swing 6.72pp 8.44pp
Results by constituency
Prime Minister before election George Cadle Price PUP Subsequent Prime Minister Manuel Esquivel UDP

General elections were held in Belize on 14 December 1984. ^[1] The result was a victory for the opposition United Democratic Party, which won 21 of the 28 seats. Voter turnout was 75.0%. ^[1]

Background

The elections were the first in Belize since it achieved full independence from the United Kingdom in 1981. In its more than 30 years of existence, the ruling People's United Party had never lost an election at the national level, whilst the opposition had never won more than six seats (out of a possible eighteen in 1974). However, by 1984 the PUP were presiding over an economy in recession and that had just recently been bailed out by the IMF. The party was internally fractured and faced a United Democratic Party that had made significant gains since losing the last general election in 1979. Senator Manuel Esquivel – who Prime Minister George Price defeated in his own House constituency in 1979 – became UDP leader in December 1983. ^[2]

The ongoing border dispute with Guatemala was also a campaign issue, with the UDP criticising Price's negotiations. ^[3] The UDP advocated for foreign direct investment to help reduce the unemployment rate. ^[4]

Just a few months before the election, Price ordered a redistricting of electoral boundaries. This created 10 new constituencies for a total of 28, but the majority were upset because of claims that the PUP drew the boundaries with victory in mind. Esquivel was elected in the newly created Caribbean Shores House constituency, while Price himself was defeated in his Freetown constituency after over 30 years of continuous service in the House of Representatives and its predecessors. ^[5] Esquivel succeeded Price as prime minister to become the first non-PUP leader in the nation's history. Price continued to lead the PUP from outside the National Assembly while Florencio Marin became Leader of the Opposition. ^[6]

Results

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	United Democratic Party	25,756	54.07	21	+16
	People's United Party	20,961	44.00	7	–6
	Christian Democratic Party	708	1.49	0	New
	Independents	213	0.45	0	New
Total		47,638	100.00	28	+10
Valid votes		47,638	98.61
Invalid/blank votes		673	1.39
Total votes		48,311	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		64,447	74.96
Source: Elections and Boundaries Department

References

1. Nohlen, D (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I, p104 ISBN   978-0-19-928357-6
2. United Democratic Party, Countrystudies.us. (accessed 10 October 2014)
3. Pitt, David (14 December 1984). "FREE BELIZE HOLDS FIRST VOTE TODAY". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 13 February 2022.
4. Pitt, David (24 December 1984). "REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK: BELIZE' POLITICAL HURRICANE". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 13 February 2022.
5. General Election 1984 Archived 2014-10-16 at the Wayback Machine , Belize Elections and Boundaries Commission. (accessed 9 October 2014)
6. The Right Honourable George Cadle Price, AmbergrisCaye.com. (accessed 9 October 2014)