Belizean general election, 1984

Last updated
Belizean general election, 1984
Flag of Belize.svg
←  1979 14 December 1984 1989  →
All 28 seats in the Belize House of Representatives (including 10 new seats)
 First partySecond party
  Manuel Esquivel.jpg George C. Price Cropped.jpg
Leader Manuel Esquivel George Cadle Price
Party UDP PUP
Leader since19831956
Leader's seat Senate
candidate in Caribbean Shores 		Freetown (lost seat)
Last election5 seats13 seats
Seats won21 seats7 seats
Seat changeIncrease2.svg16Decrease2.svg6
Popular vote25,75620,961
Percentage54.1%44.0%
SwingIncrease2.svg6.7Decrease2.svg8.4
Prime Minister before election

George Cadle Price
PUP

Subsequent Prime Minister

Manuel Esquivel
UDP

Belize
Coat of arms of Belize.svg
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Belize

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]

Belize country in Central America

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.

United Democratic Party (Belize) political party in Belize

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.

Contents

Background

The election was 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]

United Kingdom Country in Europe

The United Kingdom, officially the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland but more commonly known as the UK or Britain, is a sovereign country lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state‍—‌the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east, the English Channel to the south and the Celtic Sea to the south-west, giving it the 12th-longest coastline in the world. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland. With an area of 242,500 square kilometres (93,600 sq mi), the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world. It is also the 22nd-most populous country, with an estimated 66.0 million inhabitants in 2017.

Peoples United Party Belizean political party

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.

International Monetary Fund International organisation

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an international organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of "189 countries working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world." Formed in 1944 at the Bretton Woods Conference primarily by the ideas of Harry Dexter White and John Maynard Keynes, it came into formal existence in 1945 with 29 member countries and the goal of reconstructing the international payment system. It now plays a central role in the management of balance of payments difficulties and international financial crises. Countries contribute funds to a pool through a quota system from which countries experiencing balance of payments problems can borrow money. As of 2016, the fund had SDR477 billion.

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 Belize House of Representatives and its predecessors. [3] 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. [4]

Redistricting is the process of drawing electoral district boundaries in the United States. A congressional act passed in 1967 requires that representatives be elected from single-member districts, except when a state has a single representative, in which case one state-wide at-large election be held.

Caribbean Shores is an electoral constituency in the Belize District represented in the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belize since 2012 by Santino "Santi" Castillo of the United Democratic Party.

Florencio Marin, Sr. is a retired Belizean politician. A veteran member of the People's United Party, Marin served as deputy prime minister under George Cadle Price as well as Deputy Leader of the Opposition.

Results

PartyVotes%Seats+/-
United Democratic Party 25,75654.121+16
People's United Party 20,96144.07-6
Christian Democratic Party 7081.50New
Independents2130.50New
Invalid/blank votes673---
Total48,31110028+10
Source: Nohlen

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References

  1. 1 2 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. ↑ General Election 1984, Belize Elections and Boundaries Commission. (accessed 9 October 2014)
  4. ↑ The Right Honourable George Cadle Price, AmbergrisCaye.com. (accessed 9 October 2014)
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