2025-02-11 - Channel 5 Belize

Election Date is Finally Set! March 12th the Day

The date for the 2025 general election is set! This morning, Prime Minister John Briceno made the much-anticipated announcement live from Belmopan. Surrounded by his cabinet and PUP candidates from across the country, PM Briceno declared that Belizeans will head to the polls on March twelfth to elect a new government. The thirty-day notice came after a meeting with the Governor General just after nine a.m. During the visit, Dame Froyla Tzalam was advised to dissolve the National Assembly, including both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Statutory Instrument Number 24 of 2025, which sets the date for the general election of members of the House of Representatives, has officially come into effect. Prime Minister Briceno announced the election date after giving a brief overview of his administration’s performance over the past four years.

Prime Minister John Briceño

“With this sterling report card in hand, and after careful reflection and prayer, I have decided that now is the appropriate time to seek from you a renewal of our electoral mandate. Earlier, I advised the Governor General to dissolve the National Assembly today and to appoint Wednesday, March twelfth, 2025 as the date for general elections. Nomination Day for candidates in all thirty-one constituencies is to be February twenty-fourth, 2025. I encourage all Belizeans to vote. Election Day is your chance, a chance to be cherished where in free and fair free elections, you choose the person and the party that can best represent your interests.”

P.U.P. Seeks a Fresh Mandate from the Belizean People

Prime Minister Briceño highlighted the P.U.P. government’s achievements and asked voters for a new five-year mandate.

Prime Minister John Briceño

“Four years ago, you gave our party and I the privilege of forming your government. Looking back, our country was virtually bankrupt at that time. Government was borrowing just to pay salaries. Tens of thousands were without jobs, wages for public officers were frozen. The economy was shrinking and the times were desperate. Things have changed dramatically as we promised they would. Every day since you gave us that massive vote of confidence, my colleagues and I have worked to deliver on Plan Belize and to maintain your trust. The results are clear across our cities, towns and villages, Belizeans are working, earning higher wages. Productivity has soared, expanding the economy. Hundreds of millions in new private sector investments have spurned developments and public funds are being invested wisely in areas that matter most to you. Healthcare, education, streets, drains, roads, housing and security. These unprecedented results were delivered without any new taxes. Plan Belize is making good on its pledge to national transformation. When you consider crucial factors such as performance, qualification, stability, character and the political parties’ state of readiness, I sincerely believe that our People’s United Party, our thirty-one candidates and our Plan Belize are clearly worthy of your vote. Let us all, candidates and constituents alike, foster an election environment that focuses on issues. One that respects each other’s rights and one that distinguishes Belize yet again, the exemplar of democracy.”

“Shyne” Says U.D.P. is Ready

With the election date now set, many are wondering how prepared the U.D.P. is. Opposition Leader Moses “Shyne” Barrow says the U.D.P. is ready to compete—and win—in all thirty-one constituencies.

Moses “Shyne” Barrow, Leader of the Opposition

“We have been doing the work as an organization, despite, uh, distractions and, um, treason and insurrection. Uh, our candidates have been working extremely hard over, um, some a few years. Um, some recently got into their divisions. Um, but overall, we have been working as an organization individually. Candidates have been doing the groundwork in their constituencies to give them an opportunity to deliver victory.”

Taegar-Panton Says It’s Time for a New Mandate

Albert Area Representative Tracy Taegar-Panton, who leads the Alliance for Democracy Faction of the U.D.P., believes it’s time for a reset for several reasons. She says she’s ready for March 12th and highlights the issues she feels have let the citizens down.

Tracy Taegar-Panton, Area Representative, Albert

“It’s time for a fresh mandate to a new administration. The demonstration of the teachers. The sick out by the firefighters, the concerns of the Belize Defense Force, the undercurrents in the public service, the concerns expressed by our health care providers is indicative of that fact. It is time for a reset. We need new leaders to take up the governance of this country to ensure That we listen. We listen to the voices of the people.”

Injunction Application Filed in High Court to Delay General Election

A legal injunction to stop the upcoming general elections has been filed in the High Court. Jeremy Enriquez, Rudolph, and Jessica Tulcey, represented by Senior Counsel Anand Ramlogan, have been in talks with the Government of Belize for weeks. Ramlogan wrote to the Briceño administration, stating they would challenge the constitutionality of the general election if redistricting wasn’t completed before the national vote. They also requested a five-day notice before announcing the election date. On Monday, Courtenay Coye LLP, representing the government, informed them that the prior notice request couldn’t be honored. Today, PM Briceño announced the general election for March twelfth. Enriquez told us that his team filed their application through the court’s online portal on Monday night, but technical issues delayed any action before the PM’s announcement.

Jeremy Enriquez, Claimant

“Following the letter we received from Courtenay and Associates, Senator Courtenay and his law firm on behalf of the attorney general, we received that letter yesterday evening and so last night when we realized there would have been no warning by the prime minister we worked into the night to file and injunction so we did file in the court’s portal last night, hoping that this morning around eight thirty or so we would have some kind of response. Unfortunately, we learnt that there was some problem with the portal and we had to get some printed documents into the court and so to get four hundred pages took a while and we were a little late in filing. But, it is disappointing but at the same time it shows the country the entrenched system we have. Not only that it is entrenched, there is strong resistance and insistence to have the status quo remain. We did have that expectation for decency and respect by the government, especially that we sent the preauction letter to them to indicate. We also sent to the governor general to say listen, can you give us a little bit of time before so that we can file our injunction. We did not get that response from the governor general, or the minister and they went ahead in a kind of an ambush to get the process done to call the elections without redistricting. But, I am still hopeful that the judges are reviewing the situation and we will see what happens from there.”

Can Claimants Force Election Date Postponement?

So, can Enriquez and the other claimants get the High Court to postpone the elections? Enriquez says we’ll have to wait and see. However, he argues that if the election goes ahead without redistricting, the results would be fraudulent.

Jeremy Enriquez, Claimant

“In this case, in a sense when the prime minister said in his statement, something to the effect that we are a model democracy, that is a blatant lie. We are calling an election that is in violation of the constitution. The prime minister promised the beginning of this term that he is going to find ways to rectify that situation and we are going back with the same thing we are starting with, the status qou.”

Reporter

In your mind, what should be happening?

Jeremy Enriquez

“What I am grateful for is that people are more aware. A lot of people are not aware that they are being taken advantage of over and over. So hopefully more organizations, more people will register their opposition to this kind of fraudulent election and not participate. That is a tall order but what we also hope for is that we will continue this thought he court process even after the election.”

Reporter

So do you have any hope of forcing the government to postpone the election based on the lack of redistricting.

Jeremy Enriquez

“This is unfolding moment by moment and we are waiting to see what the judges say. I don’t want to preempt that so we will have to wait and see. The bottom line is that there has been no resolution to redistricting and we are entering an illegal election with all the gross, severe malapportionment of electoral divisions.”

Paul Lopez

What do you advise people to do?

Jeremy Enriquez

“I am not voting, so I am encouraging people not to vote. And if we have people in mass not to do that it could register our voice and what we feel about the election. Secondly, any observer of our electoral process, whether OAS, or Common Wealth, I want them to know already that they are coming to observe something fraudulent.”

Taegar-Panton Says Redistricting Can Be Held After Elections

Albert Area Representative Tracy Taegar-Panton was more lenient with the government on redistricting. She emphasized that it’s crucial for fair play but hoped it could be tackled right after the March twelfth election. Panton mentioned she supported this effort even when she was part of the previous government.

Tracy Taegar-Panton, Area Representative, Albert

“We need to ensure that there is fair representation by all those who have a voice in terms of who are registered to vote. I don’t know which court, though, can fetter the power of the government. And so, I think it is unlikely, but I might be corrected that decision will take hold prior to this upcoming election on March 12th. It should have happened, and I’m really hoping that right after this election, that will be the first order of business for us to work on the redistricting exercise.”

“Shyne” Barrow Says Redistricting Is Necessary before Elections

Despite today’s injunction to stop the March twelfth election, Opposition Leader Moses “Shyne” Barrow believes there’s still time for redistricting. He highlighted certain constituencies with glaring voter discrepancies, arguing it would be unfair to hold the elections before addressing these issues.

Moses “Shyne” Barrow, Leader of the Opposition

“When you have Fort George being merged with Caye Caulker that is atrocious, absolutely ridiculous. Belize Rural South should have been split in half, creating another constituency. Fort George should have been folded into Caribbean Shores because that is the entire best practice, requisite that constituencies that are contiguous with each other usually would form the new constituencies that were not followed. No best practices were followed.”

Shyne is Not Open to Mediation

Just a month before the general election, we asked Barrow if he’s open to mediation with Tracy Taegar-Panton and the Alliance for Democracy. On Monday, Taegar-Panton’s lawyer wrote to Barrow’s attorney requesting mediation between the U.D.P. factions. When we sat down with Barrow, he practically dismissed the question, insisting there are no factions in the U.D.P. Here’s how he responded.

Marion Ali

“Are you open to mediation now having heard the election, um, date being March 12th? Are you open to mending fences at any point?”

Moses “Shyne” Barrow, Leader of the Opposition

“I’m open to forming the next government and doing better for the Belizean people because they certainly deserve much better than they’ve gotten over the last four years. This is one of the worst governments ever, most disingenuous, dishonest, total betrayal of their policies and promises and we need to do better for the Belizean people.”

Marion Ali

“So no mediation with the faction you call or the group you call the Alliance for Democracy?”

Moses “Shyne” Barrow

“There is no faction in the U.D.P.”

Taegar-Panton Says Barrow Has Shown No Interest in Mediation

Taegar-Panton said Barrow’s refusal to accept the October twentieth convention results and his unwillingness to follow the court’s advice for mediation have stalled the process. The court suggested both sides work out their differences, but Barrow hasn’t shown any interest. This, according to Taegar-Panton, is what initially frustrated their efforts to resolve the issues.

Tracy Taegar-Panton, Area Representative, Albert

“I don’t think Shyne has ever expressed any interest in mediation. In fact, his attorney, some Dr. Malcolm out of Jamaica has said clearly that Shyne was dispensing with mediation. The court, the judge in this matter, Hondura strongly, in the strongest terms, recommended mediation. And not only that, when we had the convention on the 20th of October 2024, our commitment to the supporters of the United Democratic Party and to the delegates of the United Democratic Party is that we would have done everything we possibly could to unite the party, to find a way to come together, to settle our differences, if possible. They could be settled or to find somewhere where we could collaborate in the interest of this country. And at every opportunity, Shyne Barrow has said, “I have no interest in doing that.”