Belizean general election, 1993

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Belizean general election, 1993
Flag of Belize.svg
←  1989 30 June 1993 1998  →
All 29 seats in the Belize House of Representatives (including one new seat)
 First partySecond party
  Manuel Esquivel.jpg George C. Price Cropped.jpg
Leader Manuel Esquivel George Cadle Price
Party UDP PUP
AllianceUDP/NABR
Leader since19831956
Leader's seat Caribbean Shores Pickstock
Last election13 seats15 seats
Seats before11 seats17 seats
Seats won16 seats [1] 13 seats
Seat changeIncrease2.svg5Decrease2.svg4
Popular vote34,306 [2] 36,082
Percentage48.7%51.2%
SwingDecrease2.svg0.3Increase2.svg0.3
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 30 June 1993. [3] 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%. [3]

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.

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.

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

British forces, kept in Belize by agreement of its government since independence in 1981, were scheduled to leave in 1993 or 1994. There was widespread belief that Belize would fall prey to Guatemalan incursions if the British left.

Guatemala republic in Central America

Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, Belize and the Caribbean to the northeast, Honduras to the east, El Salvador to the southeast and the Pacific Ocean to the south. With an estimated population of around 16.6 million, it is the most populated country in Central America. Guatemala is a representative democracy; its capital and largest city is Nueva Guatemala de la Asunción, also known as Guatemala City.

The PUP won the previous election with a two-seat majority. However, by early 1993 its majority had increased to six thanks to newly elected UDP Area Rep. William Usher of Toledo West crossing the floor to the PUP days after the 1989 election, and a January 1993 by-election win in Freetown after the UDP's Derek Aikman was forced to resign due to bankruptcy. [4] [5] Success in the subsequent March municipal elections also gave the PUP added confidence.

Crossing the floor political term

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.

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.

Derek Aikman was a Belizean politician. He served in the Belize House of Representatives as an area representative for the Freetown constituency in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Meanwhile, the UDP had been in apparent disarray since 1991, when a group led by longtime Area Rep. Philip Goldson broke with the party to form the National Alliance for Belizean Rights over disagreements on how to handle the longstanding Belizean–Guatemalan territorial dispute. This all compelled Prime Minister George Price to call elections nearly 18 months early (they were not constitutionally due until at least December 1994).

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.

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.

Belizean–Guatemalan territorial dispute

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.

With Price's move the UDP and NABR promptly sought a coalition to achieve victory at the polls. However, Goldson was the NABR's only successful candidate. Although the PUP won a majority of votes nationwide, the UDP/NABR coalition won a slim majority of seats and therefore formed the next government. The election would be Price's last as PUP leader after over 35 years. He was succeeded as party leader in 1996 by Said Musa.

Said Musa Belizean politician

Said Wilbert Musa is a Belizean lawyer and politician. He was the Prime Minister of Belize from 28 August 1998 to 8 February 2008.

Results

PartyVotes%Seats+/-
People's United Party 36,08251.213-2
United Democratic Party-National Alliance for Belizean Rights 34,30648.716+3
Independents430.100
Invalid/blank votes499---
Total70,93010029+1
Source: Nohlen

This was an extremely close election in several constituencies:

Related Research Articles

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The National Independence Party of Belize was a merger of two Belizean political parties that effectively served as the chief opposition party in Belize for practically all of its existence. It was formed in July 1958 and dissolved as part of the formation of the new United Democratic Party in 1973.

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2008 Belizean general election

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Albert is an electoral constituency in the Belize District of Belize.

2008 Belizean constitutional referendum

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2012 Belizean general election

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.

2015 Belizean general election

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.

Municipal elections were held in Belize on 7 March 2012 at the same time as the Belizean general election. The United Democratic Party (UDP) won six municipalities, while the People's United Party (PUP) won three municipalities.

References

  1. ↑ 15 seats won by the UDP, 1 seat won by the NABR (Philip Goldson)
  2. ↑ Includes votes for NABR candidates
  3. 1 2 Nohlen, D (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I, p104 ISBN   978-0-19-928357-6
  4. ↑ Ramos, Adele. "Bombshell: Mahmud resigns!", Amandala , 25 November 2014. (accessed 4 December 2014)
  5. ↑ "Ruling party gets another seat", Kingston Gleaner , 9 September 1989. (accessed 4 December 2014)
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