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All 18 seats in the Belize House of Representatives | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Belize |
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Monarchy |
Administrative divisions |
General elections were held in Belize on 21 November 1979. [1] The result was a victory for the ruling People's United Party, which won 13 of the 18 seats. Voter turnout was 89.9%. [1] [2]
Belize is a country located on the eastern coast of Central America. Belize is bordered on the northwest by Mexico, on the east by the Caribbean Sea, and on the south and west by Guatemala. It has an area of 22,970 square kilometres (8,867 sq mi) and a population of 387,879 (2017). Its mainland is about 180 mi (290 km) long and 68 mi (110 km) wide. It has the lowest population and population density in Central America. The country's population growth rate of 1.87% per year (2015) is the second highest in the region and one of the highest in the Western Hemisphere.
The People's United Party (PUP) is one of two major political parties in Belize. It is currently the main opposition party with 12 of 31 seats in the House of Representatives. It is a centre-left Christian democratic party. The party leader is Johnny Briceño, who currently serves as Belize's Leader of the Opposition.
The PUP went into the election with a 13-5 majority, having picked up a seat after the previous election when Toledo District Area Rep. Vicente Choco crossed the floor from the opposition United Democratic Party in 1975. [3] The election results confirmed that 13-5 majority.
Toledo District is the southernmost district in Belize, and Punta Gorda is the District capital. It is the least developed region in the country, and it features some of the most pristine rainforests, extensive cave networks, coastal lowland plains, and offshore cays. Toledo is home to a wide range of cultures: Mopan and Kekchi Maya, Creole, the Garifuna, East Indians, Mennonites, Mestizos, and descendants of US Confederate settlers.
In politics, crossing the floor is when a politician changes their allegiance or votes against their party in a Westminster system parliament. Crossing the floor may be voting against the approved party lines, or changing to another party after being elected while a member of a first party. While these practices are legally permissible, crossing the floor can lead to controversy and media attention. As well, voting against party lines may lead to consequences such as losing a position or being ejected from the party caucus. Maldives and Bangladesh have laws which remove the member from parliament due to floor-crossing.
The United Democratic Party (UDP) is one of the two major political parties in Belize. It is the ruling party, having won the 2008, 2012 and 2015 general elections. A centre-right conservative party, the UDP is led by Prime Minister of Belize Dean Barrow.
In 1979, Belizeans were concerned about their progress toward independence and the Guatemalan claim to the colony. The UDP were not in favour of advancing on the former issue without a substantial settlement of the latter, and this led the PUP to turn the election into a sort of referendum on that question. By their turnout (a record high) and their support for the PUP, Belizeans made clear their preferences and set in motion the chain of events that would lead to independence in 1981.
The Belizean–Guatemalan territorial dispute is an unresolved binational territorial dispute between the states of Belize and Guatemala, neighbours in Central America. The territory of Belize has been claimed in whole or in part by Guatemala since 1821.
Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/- |
---|---|---|---|---|
People's United Party | 23,309 | 52.4 | 13 | 0 |
United Democratic Party | 21,045 | 47.4 | 5 | 0 |
Toledo Progressive Party | 96 | 0.2 | 0 | New |
Invalid/blank votes | 521 | - | - | - |
Total | 44,971 | 100 | 18 | 0 |
Source: Nohlen |
Said Wilbert Musa is a Belizean lawyer and politician. He was the Prime Minister of Belize from 28 August 1998 to 8 February 2008.
George Cadle Price, PC, OCC, was a Belizean statesman who served twice as the head of government of Belize from 1961–1984 and 1989–1993. He served as First Minister and Premier under British rule until independence in 1981 and was the nation's first prime minister after independence that year. He is considered to have been one of the principal architects of Belizean independence. Today he is referred to by many as the "Father of the Nation". Price effectively dominated Belizean politics from the early 1960s until his 1996 retirement from party leadership, serving as the nation's head of government under various titles for most of that period.
Elections in Belize are the duly held elections held at various levels of government in the nation of Belize.
General elections were held in Belize on 27 August 1998. The result was a victory for the People's United Party, which won 26 of the 29 seats and Said Musa was elected as Prime Minister for the first time. Voter turnout was 90.1%, the highest since independence.
General elections were held in Belize on 30 June 1993. Although the People's United Party received the most votes, the United Democratic Party-National Alliance for Belizean Rights alliance won more seats. Voter turnout was 72.1%.
General elections were held in Belize on 14 December 1984. The result was a victory for the opposition United Democratic Party, which won 21 of the 28 seats. Voter turnout was 75.0%.
A legislative election was held in Belize on 30 October 1974. Belizeans elected 18 members to the House of Representatives. The election was the first since the country was officially renamed from British Honduras in 1973.
The National Alliance for Belizean Rights (NABR), formed as the Patriotic Alliance for Territorial Integrity, was a political party in Belize in the 1990s. The party colour was forest green.
A legislative election was held in British Honduras on 1 March 1965. Belizeans elected 18 members to the British Honduras Legislative Assembly.
A legislative election was held in the nation of Belize on February 7, 2008. Beginning with this election, Belizeans elected 31 members to the House of Representatives of Belize instead of 29. In what was considered an upset, the opposition United Democratic Party (UDP) won the election with 25 out of 31 seats; the ruling People's United Party won six.
Philip Stanley Wilberforce Goldson was a Belizean newspaper editor, activist and politician. He served in the House of Representatives of Belize as member for the Albert constituency from 1965 to 1998 and twice as a minister. Goldson was a founding member of both of Belize's current major political parties, the People's United Party (PUP) in the 1950s and the United Democratic Party (UDP) in the 1970s. He was also the leading spokesman of the hardline anti-Guatemalan territorial claims National Alliance for Belizean Rights party in the 1990s.
Albert is an electoral constituency in the Belize District of Belize.
Dean Russel Lindo was a Belizean attorney and politician. He was one of the principal founders of the United Democratic Party in 1973 and served as its first leader from 1974 to 1979.
A national referendum, the nation's first, was held in Belize on February 7, 2008, coinciding with the 2008 general elections.
John Birchman Saldivar is a Belizean politician. A member of the United Democratic Party, Saldivar has represented the Belmopan constituency in the Belize House of Representatives since its creation in 2008. He was previously Area Representative for Cayo South.
A legislative election was held in Belize on 7 March 2012 to elect all 31 members of the Belize House of Representatives as well as offices in the various local governments. The election was run by the Elections and Boundaries Commission's Elections and Boundaries Department. Dean Barrow and his United Democratic Party (UDP) were re-elected, but lost eight seats to the opposition People's United Party (PUP) to maintain a slim 17-14 majority in the Belize House. The upper house of the Belize National Assembly, the Senate, was appointed after the election by the UDP-led government in accordance with the Constitution of Belize.
General elections were held in Belize on 4 November 2015 to elect members of the House of Representatives. On 28 September 2015 Prime Minister Dean Barrow announced that he had advised the Governor-General to dissolve the National Assembly and to fix Wednesday 4 November 2015 as the date for the next general elections.
Freetown is an electoral constituency in the Belize District represented in the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belize since 2003 by Francis Fonseca of the People's United Party. Fonseca served as PUP leader and Leader of the Opposition from 2011 to 2016.
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