Parliament will not be Dissolved this Friday!

Prime Minister John Briceño won’t be announcing the date for the general election at Friday’s Special Sitting of the House of Representatives. This was confirmed by Senior Counsel Eamon Courtenay in response to a pre-action letter sent to the Attorney General, the Speaker of the House, and the Chair of the Elections and Boundaries Commission on February 4th. On Tuesday, Trinidadian attorney Anand Ramlogan, who is also called to the bar in Belize, wrote to these officials on behalf of his clients: Jeremy Enriquez, Rudolph Noralez, and Jessic Tulcey. The letter raised concerns about a potential breach of their constitutional rights if elections are called and held based on the current electoral district boundaries. The letter emphasized that before any general election can take place, the state must implement the proposals from the Election and Boundaries Commission regarding the new electoral boundaries. This follows a consent order from the High Court related to a 2019 case brought by Smith et al. against the Attorney General and others. Both the state and the Commission acknowledged that the current voter distribution made it necessary to redefine the electoral boundaries. As a result, they agreed to amend the Representation of the People’s Act to reflect these new boundaries.  Although Courtenay Coye’s response didn’t tackle the concerns raised in the pre-action letter, it did clarify that the law firm represents both the Attorney General and the House Speaker. Meanwhile, Senior Counsel Godfrey Smith, via Marine Parade Chambers, is handling matters for the Elections and Boundaries Commission.