1989 Belizean general election

1989 Belizean general election

←  1984 4 September 1989 1993  →
All 28 seats in the House of Representatives
Turnout	72.62%
First party Second party   Leader George Cadle Price Manuel Esquivel Party PUP UDP Leader since 1956 1983 Leader's seat Pickstock Caribbean Shores Last election 7 seats 21 seats Seats won 15 13 Seat change 8 8 Popular vote 29,986 28,900 Percentage 50.9% 49.0% Swing 6.9 5.1
Popular vote by constituency. As Belize uses the FPTP electoral system, seat totals are not determined by popular vote, but instead via results by each constituency
Prime Minister before election Manuel Esquivel UDP Subsequent Prime Minister George Cadle Price PUP

General elections were held in Belize on 4 September 1989. ^[1] The result was a narrow victory for the People's United Party, which won 15 of the 28 seats. ^[2] The United Democratic Party lost its supermajority, moving into opposition. Voter turnout was 72.6%. ^[1]

Background

The ruling United Democratic Party was finishing its first term and sought re-election on the basis of improved economic indicators and standard of living. The People's United Party painted them as lusting after foreign aid and recognition, particularly from the United States and Taiwan.

Another issue was national security; the PUP attacked a CIA-like operation known as the Secret Intelligence Service as being a spy network for the UDP and promised freedom of the press and other fundamental freedoms enshrined in the constitution.

Longtime PUP leader George Cadle Price returned to both the House of Representatives and as prime minister after his surprise ouster in the 1984 election, winning the Pickstock constituency in the Belize District. ^{[3] [4]}

Results

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	People's United Party	29,986	50.87	15	+8
	United Democratic Party	28,900	49.02	13	–8
	Independents	65	0.11	0	0
Total		58,951	100.00	28	0
Valid votes		58,951	98.33
Invalid/blank votes		1,003	1.67
Total votes		59,954	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		82,556	72.62
Source: Elections and Boundaries Department

By constituency

Division	Electorate	Turnout	%	Candidate	Party		Votes	%
Caribbean Shores	2,779	1,745	62.7	Manuel Esquivel		United Democratic Party	957	54.8
				Louis Humphreys		People's United Party	775	44.4
Freetown	2,771	1,774	64.0	Derek Aikman		United Democratic Party	961	54.2
				Araceli "Lita" Hunter Krohn		People's United Party	783	44.1
Pickstock	2,453	1,514	61.7	George Cadle Price		People's United Party	906	59.8
				Cyril Davis		United Democratic Party	584	34.5
Fort George	2,833	1,780	62.8	Said Musa		People's United Party	1,105	62.0
				Dean Lindo		United Democratic Party	656	36.8
Lake Independence	3,376	2,115	62.6	Carlos Diaz		People's United Party	1,091	51.5
				Hubert Elrington		United Democratic Party	978	46.2
Albert	2,393	1,397	58.0	Phillip Goldson		United Democratic Party	812	58.1
				Roy Young		People's United Party	560	40.0
Collet	2,656	1,616	60.8	Remijio Montejo		People's United Party	940	58.2
				Frank Lizama		United Democratic Party	661	40.9
Mesopotamia	2,818	1,570	55.7	Curl Thompson		United Democratic Party	834	53.1
				Stephen Latchman		People's United Party	713	45.4
Queen's Square	2,896	1,697	58.5	Dean Barrow		United Democratic Party	1,085	63.9
				Tom Greenwood		People's United Party	588	34.6
Port Loyola	3,002	1,759	58.5	Henry Young		United Democratic Party	991	56.3
				Ernest Staine		People's United Party	695	39.5
Belize Rural North	2,469	1,653	66.9	Samuel Rhaburn		United Democratic Party	806	48.8
				Ewing Maxwell Samuels		People's United Party	760	45.9
				Rufus X		Independent	65	3.9
Belize Rural South	3,350	2,297	68.5	Glenn Godfrey		People's United Party	1489	64.8
				Rudolph Thompson		United Democratic Party	762	33.2
Orange Walk North	2,982	2,641	88.5	Ruben Campos		United Democratic Party	1338	50.6
				Santiago Rosado		People's United Party	1,256	47.5
Orange Walk Central	2,717	2,170	79.8	Leopoldo Briceno		People's United Party	1144	52.7
				Leliz Carballo		United Democratic Party	1,010	46.5
Orange Walk East	3,264	2,706	82.9	Elodio Aragon		United Democratic Party	1464	54.1
				Ramon Cervantes		People's United Party	1195	44.2
Orange Walk South	3,057	2,743	81.7	Guadalupe Pech		People's United Party	1,378	50.2
				Onesimo Pech		United Democratic Party	1,331	48.5
Cayo North	3,751	2,951	78.6	Salvador Fernandez		United Democratic Party	1,562	52.9
				Ismael "Miley" Garcia		People's United Party	1,321	44.8
Cayo South	3,199	2,382	74.0	Samuel Waight		People's United Party	1,425	59.8
				Philip Brackett		United Democratic Party	910	38.2
Cayo West	2,539	2,010	79.0	Miguel Ruiz		People's United Party	1,033	51.3
				Carlos Leon		United Democratic Party	929	46.2
Cayo Central	3,249	2,491	76.6	Daniel Silva		People's United Party	1,277	51.2
				Eduardo "Dito" Juan		United Democratic Party	1,152	46.2
Corozal North	2,922	2,522	86.3	Valdemar Castillo		People's United Party	1,371	54.4
				Richard Quan		United Democratic Party	1,119	44.4
Corozal South West	2,821	2,398	85.0	Asterio Ortega		United Democratic Party	1,309	54.6
				Everaldo Puck		People's United Party	1,055	43.9
Corozal Bay	3,336	2,544	76.0	Juan Vildo Marin		People's United Party	1,258	50.5
				Israel Alpuche		United Democratic Party	1,201	47.2
Corozal South East	3,203	2,887	90.0	Florencio Marin		People's United Party	1,528	52.9
				Doroteo Pott		United Democratic Party	1,320	45.7
Dangriga	3,486	2,330	66.8	Theodore Aranda		People's United Party	1,233	52.9
				Randolph Enriquez		United Democratic Party	1,057	45.4
Stann Creek West	2,286	1,783	77.9	Melvin Hulse		United Democratic Party	881	49.4
				Conrad Lewis		People's United Party	871	48.8
Toledo East	3,375	2,494	73.8	Michael Espat		People's United Party	1,298	52.0
				Charles Wagner		United Democratic Party	1,168	46.8
Toledo West	2,573	1,985	53.5	William "Dennis" Usher		United Democratic Party	1,062	53.5
				Samuel Alexander "Alejandro" Vernon		People's United Party	911	45.9
Source: Belize Times [5]

References

1. Dieter Nohlen (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I, p104 ISBN   978-0-19-928357-6
2. "Election Watch". Journal of Democracy. 1 (1): 118–121. 1990. ISSN   1086-3214.
3. General Election 1989 Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine , Belize Elections and Boundaries Commission. (accessed 9 October 2014)
4. The Right Honourable George Cadle Price, AmbergrisCaye.com. (accessed 9 October 2014)
5. The Belize Times, 10 September 1989, pC–D