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RE-REGISTER,-"Your Right To Vote Depends On It"

Beginning 1" July, 2018, every registered elector needs to be registered afresh, and any other person who has not yet registered to vote can apply to be registered.

1. Qualification

• a. is eighteen years of age and over; and
• b. i. is a citizen of Belize; or
• ii. is a citizen of any commonwealth country who has ordinarily resided in Belize for a period of not less than twelve months; and
• c. is resident for a period of not less than two months in the electoral division in which he seeks registration.

• Personally take along either of the following original documents to the Registration Center in the electoral division where you reside:
• Belizean Birth Certificate and a photo ID (Social Security Card or photograph certified, stamped and signed by a Justice of the Peace); or
• Valid Belizean Passport; or
• Belizean Nationality Certificate, (Social Security Card or photograph certified, stamped and signed by a Justice of the Peace is required for certificates without picture); or

Original Commonwealth Citizen Country's Passport

• Marriage and/or Divorce Certificate for females (where applicable); or
• Deed Poll accompanied by Birth Certificate and a photo ID (Social Security Card or photograph certified, stamped and signed by a Justice of the Peace); or
• Adoption Certificate and a photo ID (Social Security Card or photograph certified, stamped and signed by a Justice of the Peace)

• In exceptional cases only, where a person is desirous of being registered as an elector and is unable to produce his birth certificate or other documents the applicant must:
• Bring along a photograph certified, stamped and signed by a Justice of the Peace to be a true likeness of the person
• Complete a form available at the registration center or area where the person is seeking registration specifying his name, address, date and place of birth, parents particulars and such other particulars as may be necessary to enable the General Registry or Immigration Department to verify the correctness.

3. All applicants are reminded that it is an OFFENCE to make a false statement for the purpose of being registered as an elector.

All applicants are encouraged to take along their documentation to the Registration Center to facilitate the process.

Re-registration is to register afresh or anew, without being re-registered, YOU CANNOT VOTE IN AN ELECTION. All eligible persons are being encouraged to participate in this Re-registration of Electors Exercise.

Voting is POWER!!! For Further information visit the Elections and Boundaries Department website at: www.elections.gov.bz or any of the Elections and Boundaries Department Registration Offices countrywide

ELECTIONS AND BOUNDARIES DEPARTMENT

National Re-Registration Exercise Process, on Open Your Eyes

Diaspora Belizeans Shut Out of Re-Registration over Residency

Chief Elections Officer Josephine Tamai appeared on this morning's Open Your Eyes to discuss the upcoming re-registration process. The first and only re-registration of voters took place in 1997 and has been repeatedly put off, but it is law and applicable to all of Belize's two hundred and four thousand voters, even those who may have registered to vote before the start of re-registration on July first. That means that you must, once you are eighteen and over and a citizen of Belize, or of any Commonwealth country and living here for twelve months and in your specific division for two, find the registration office for your constituency in July and August. But what does that mean for Belizeans living outside of the country? Tamai explains the procedure.

Josephine Tamai, Chief Elections Officer

"One of the qualifications is you need to reside at that address, for not less than two months. So for persons living abroad, they haven't resided in Belize within a constituency in the last two months, so those persons would not meet the criteria."

John Palacio

"Wow."

Marleni Cuellar

"The only people would be persons on official work duty?"

Josephine Tamai

"Right, because in terms of residence, the Constitution speaks to residence, and it defines residency if you're out on the service of the Government of Belize; if you're out for some medical attention which is beneficial to your health, approved by a medical practitioner - again, for those persons and those persons who are [on] approved course of studies; so those three categories, if those persons are out, then it is not considered that they are not residents of Belize; they are still a resident of Belize."

Marleni Cuellar

"What type of proof do they have to provide, for example those students who are studying at this time?"

Josephine Tamai

"For students, they have to provide proof that they are a student; so we would have to get records from the school to show that you are a student."

Channel 5

The Elections and Boundaries Department hereby provides the public with the following information regarding the upcoming re-registration of electors exercise:

Proclamation- Appointment of Commencement Day for Re-Registration

Statutory Instrument No. 47 of 2017 is a proclamation issued by the Governor General altering the date for the commencement of the re-registration exercise to be carried out from 1st July 2017 to 1st July 2018.

Purpose of a Re-Registration

The Representation of the People Act (ROPA) states that there shall be carried out a complete re-registration of electors every twenty years, the first being in 1st July 1997 (Statutory Instrument Numbers 17 of 2007 and 7 of 2012).

The exercise paves the way for the creation of new registers of electors and issuance of new voter identification cards to all qualified electors who participated in the exercise.

Re-Registration Strategy

Since 1st July 2018 will fall on a Sunday, the mass registration begins on Monday, 2nd July 2018. The traditional buildings used as polling stations will be used as registration centers. Efforts are being made not to utilize high schools since, in most cases, these buildings are used for summer classes and workshops. All centers will be manned by Temporary Assistant Registering Officers who have been recruited by the Ministry of the Public Service. Centers will be opened from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Mondays to Fridays, and from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturdays. Investigations will be conducted every day of the week.

There will be scheduled visits made to villages in an effort to reach out to as many communities as possible.

The Registering Officers will also accommodate senior citizens and persons with any physical incapacity who request such assistance.

At the end of August 2018, registration centers will be closed, and the Elections and Boundaries Department Registration Offices countrywide will be utilized for the ongoing re-registration exercise.

After the mass registration is completed, in accordance with Rule 22 of the Representation of the People Registration Rules, the Registering Officer shall on a date specified, in consultation with the Chief Elections Officer, by the Minister; by order published in the Gazette, prepare and publish registers of electors. Fourteen (14) days will be allowed for objections and rectification of particulars, after which they would be revised by the courts. After this, normal registration will continue with monthly supplementary lists being added to the register. In accordance with Rule 8(3) of the Representation of the People Registration Rules, political parties are afforded the opportunity to have scrutineers at the registration centers to observe the registration process.

Documents required for Registration

The policy of requiring proof of citizenship, age, and authentication of documents tendered shall be strictly enforced.

In exceptional cases only, those who are unable to produce proof of citizenship and age, are required to bring along a photograph certified, stamped, and signed by a Justice of the Peace to be a true likeness of the person. Applicants are then requested to complete a form available at the registration center or area, which will be forwarded to the General Registry or Immigration Department for verification of the particulars provided.

Transparency of the Re-Registration Process

As soon as the Registering Officers publish the new registers of electors, there will be notices published specifying the places where the registers will be available for inspection.

All eligible persons are being encouraged to participate in this Re-registration Exercise.

Re-Register- "Your Right to Vote Depends on it."

Re-Registration Starts On Monday

It's 11 years late, but re-registration is finally here. The last time the government cleaned up the voter's list was 1997, over two decades ago. The Elections and Boundaries Office has been preparing for the two month long operation which starts on Monday, July second. They have budgeted about $8 million to get it done and today Chief Elections Officer, Josephine Tamai, told the media how they plan to get it done ...

Josephine Tamai - Chief Elections Officer
"From the Elections and Boundaries standpoint we are prepared for the mass re-registration commencing this Monday the 2nd of July, 2018. As persons know this exercise commences on Monday and the mass registration at the various registration centers will close on the 31st of August 2018. After the 31st, which starts on the 1st of September then persons will be required to visit our regular registration offices throughout the country to do their registration. We want to urge persons to take advantage of the opportunity at the registration centers that we will be having. We will be reaching out to persons in order for them to have access to the registration centers. These centers, I want to remind the public that these centers will be opened from Monday to Fridays from 9am to 7pm, on Saturdays from 10am to 4pm. Where we will be having visits in the villages and in some other areas, those visits will take place between the hours of 9am and 5pm on those days."

Re-registration officially starts on July 2nd. Information about registration centers will be available in newspapers as well as ELECTIONS.GOV.BZ.

Channel 7

Re-Registration Drive Commences, Slowly

This morning at 9:00, re-registration started today at over 60 centers countrywide. When we toured a few in the city we found people already lined up at some centers, like Wesley Lower school in Albert, and Grace Primary in Mesop, while a center like Trinity Methodist in Caribbean Shores had hardly anyone, and St. Mary's in Fort George had only seen two re-registrants since morning.

It's a slow start but they the time the exercise finishes in September - the elections and boundaries office hopes to re-register about two hundred thousand electors.

On Friday, the Chief Elections Officer told us that they are focussed on making the process as service oriented as possible:..

Josephine Tamai, Chief Elections Officer
"You may find lines when you go to the registration centers. We want to ensure that the process is free and that's its fast. So we need to ensure that these person are adequately trained in terms of utilizing the system, how to take the photographs and all those things, so that the lines move much faster and so that the public do not get frustrated, because we are not here to frustrate anybody. We are here to ensure that there is a smooth process and to give persons the opportunity to come out and get registered."

"This exercise, it starts from the 1st July. We have already did our notice to encourage persons to apply up to the 30th September. So every who applies between the months of July and September - all applications that have been processed up to the 30th September, in the month of October - closer to the ending of the month then we will have a revision list that persons can view. That is what we call the new register. We will be sharing the information that we received with the political parties on a monthly basis and if we have mass turn out, quite possibly that it will be every two weeks, every week, depending on the turnouts."

"So that has been agreed and when it comes to observing, even the verification, the political parties have representation at the registration centers even when the information from vital statistic unit and from immigration department comes and we have to send those to verify, the political parties will have scrutineers here at the central office to observe that process. So the card will be issued for all persons until the end of this year. Because remember it's a process. So we have to ensure that all investigations have been carried out before we could even issue a card. So no identification card will be issued prior to December of this year."

"A budget of 8 million dollars was approved to us. It's a bit tight as we know. Because people might say oh 8 million is a lot. But I will tell you for an exercise of this magnitude it's not much. But we are working with what it is that we have and doing the best with the resources that we have."

You can find a full list of re-registration centers at 7Newsbelize.com

Centers countrywide are opened from 9:00 in the morning to 7:00 in the evening on every weekday and Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Visits to remote villages will be carried out between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.

Channel 7

The Wrath Of Re-Registration Rejection

For months now we've been reporting on re-registration. It's part of the awareness campaign to get voters mobilised to go to their nearest polling station and get re-registered. For some, particularly those with the least resources in rural areas, it can mean long walks or bus rides on hot days to get to that polling station. But what no one told them is that - if they show up in a shirt or blouse without sleeves they'll be rejected. That's right - it wasn't part of the information campaign - but if you do not have sleeves on your shirt or top, you cannot re-register.

Our News Director Jules Vasquez who is no fan of re-registration in the first place - found this requirement a bit much - and so he decided to test it. He narrates how that went:

Now, we aren't sure whether his application was rejected or accepted - since a receipt was written out - but after that, a supervisor objected and Jules was told to leave the receipt there. We'll see where it goes.

And, a note, both political parties told us they keep jackets at their scrutineers stations for persons with sleeveless tops.

Channel 7

Re-Registration totals low for Belize Rural South, Caye Caulker granted re-registration extension dates

As the national voter re-registration process continues nationwide, the Elections and Boundaries office in Belize City has confirmed an extension for Caye Caulker. Residents had lobbied for additional time after only having from July 16th to the 23rd in the first re-registration exercise. The new extension is now from Wednesday, August 8th to the 13th, and all Hicaque�os who have yet to re-register are encouraged to visit their Community Centre to do so. According to reports from Elections and Boundaries, up to July 28th, a total of 70,009 applications for re-registration had been accepted countrywide.

Unconfirmed reports for Belize Rural South, which includes Ambergris Caye and Caye Caulker, states that only 3,000 persons have re-registered from a previous list of over 9,700 voters. Thus, local authorities are urging islanders to head to the registration centers: San Pedro Roman Catholic Primary School for San Pedro Town and the Community Centre for Caye Caulker Village.

Elections and Boundaries remind the public that applications for registration as an elector will be accepted at any of the registration centers in their respective electoral division. Documents required to register to include a Belizean birth certificate and a photo ID (Social Security card), or photograph certified, stamped, and signed by a Justice of the Peace (JP), or valid Belizean passport. Commonwealth passports and naturalization certificates are also be accepted. If the document has no picture, bring along a photograph certified, and signed by a JP.

Final Call For Re-Registration Coming Up

The Elections and Boundaries Department is reporting tonight that as of August 11th, ninety thousand, eight hundred and seventy-three (90,873) Belizeans have re-registered, and can vote in any elections. 

In week 6 of the re-registration exercise, which ran from August 5th to the 11th, only nine thousand, three hundred and twenty (9,320) applicants showed up to be added back to the country’s list of registered voters. Those numbers are the lowest to date.

In week 5, just 11 thousand, 500 voters re-registered, and in week 4, there were 15 thousand, 500 applications.

But, for those of you how still haven’t showed up to re-register, the Elections and Boundaries Department is urging you to do so because the registration centers in the 31 electoral divisions countrywide will be closed after August 31.

On Monday, September 3rd, all other persons who haven’t re-registered by then will have to do so at the Elections and Boundaries registration offices.

Channel 7

Re-registration numbers are down; the cause linked to the Vital Statistic Unit

The mass re-registration exercise is two weeks away from culminating, and reports coming from Elections and Boundaries indicate that as of August 11th only 90,873 applications have been filed. The previous week, 9,320 applications were received, showing a decrease from previous weeks. The Department intended to re-register about 200,000 voters by the end of August 2018, however, that goal now seems unlikely. It is believed that the decline in the re-registration process is due to the alleged poor service at the Vital Statistic Unit, where many people have been visiting to obtain necessary documentation, such as birth certificates to re-register. The slow service has created long, slow-moving lines at the said institution, with people becoming frustrated with the delay.

On Tuesday, August 14th, the Vital Statistic Unit premises was reportedly packed to capacity, with many people standing in long lines. They seemed impatient, tired and frustrated with the progress of obtaining their documents. As thousands of Belizeans still make attempts to re-register, the function of the said Unit has been put into the spotlight, as politicians from both major parties are doing their best to get voters registered in their various constituencies.

Re-Reg Numbers Continue to Sag

This is the last week of re-registration, so we hope that you're planning to get out to your center this week and do your duty. Last week, only 8,575 persons did go out, which is the lowest turnout yet. That's down form the week before when 10,141 persons went to re-register.

So, up to Saturday August 25th, a total of one hundred and nine thousand, five hundred and eighty-nine (109,589) have applied to re-register.

That's way below projections - so the Elections and Boundaries Department and this station are urging you to go out this week. Re-registration ends on Friday 31st August, 2018 in all thirty-one electoral divisions country-wide.

Starting next week Monday, applications will only be accepted at the Elections and Boundaries Registration Offices - as they usually are.

Channel 7

Re-Reg Wraps Up With Very Average Turnout

Re-Registration Of Electors Exercise Until September 2018

The full Re-registration exercise finished on Friday and a total of 121,496 voters registered during the 8 week exercise. That's the total after 11,907 persons registered in the final week. Overall, it's a somewhat disappointing figure since the Elections and Boundaries office were hoping that the number of applicants would be close to two hundred thousand voters.

But, while the re-registration centers are closed, the re-registration process continues. You can go to any of the Elections and Boundaries Registration Offices countrywide Mondays to Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The last date to re-register is 30th September 2018.

Channel 7

Re-Reg Numbers Dip Even Further

The Elections and Boundaries Department has released its latest voters re-registration stats, and the figures say that there was a major fall in the number of Belizeans who applied.

From September 3rd to September 8th, which was the first time during the exercise that the Department moved back to their regular offices, only 951 Belizeans went to re-register. Those fewer than a thousand applications, brings the total number of re-registered voters to one hundred twenty-two thousand, four hundred and forty-seven (122,447).

The re-registration exercise continues until the end of September, when normal voter registration will resume. Again, those who still need to re-register can do so at the Elections and Boundaries Offices in the different districts.

Channel 7

Re-Registration, The Full Breakdown

Since, the start of July, when the Elections and Boundaries Department started the re-registration exercise, we've been reporting on the weekly figures.

The idea is to get as many persons as possible back on the voters' roll to keep our democracy robust, and to make sure next year's ICJ referendum has a broad representation of the population.

The Elections and Boundaries Department and the UNDP, have compiled data which closely tracks the trends that occurred since the start of re-registration until the end of August.

So far, just over 122 thousand Belizeans have re-registered, which only 59% of the total number that was on the previous voter's list. The Elections and Boundaries authorities had set a target of 70% of the old list, but as we've shown you, voters just haven't been showing up in that kind of numbers.

Today, the Elections and Boundaries Department hosted an information sharing session, in which they gave a more complete picture of what has happened during this exercise, and 7News was there. The Chief Elections Officer Josephine Tamai presented the data to those gathered, here are a few important excerpts:

Josephine Tamai - Chief Elections Officer
"The rural communities took advantage of the visits. The political parties' mobilization contributed to the success, however, as stakeholders, we must all do our part. At 31st August, 2018, we managed to get a total of 59.25% of the registered electors that we had prior to the commencement of the re-registration exercise. We notice as well that in the second week of July, that is when we had the most applications being received. As we proceed, you notice that the figures go down; it goes back up; it goes back down. And in the last week of August, the figures actually went back up. So, again, as stakeholders, we want to ask you all to please assist us in terms of getting persons registered, encouraging persons to get registered, in order for us to ensure that all Belizeans have a say whenever we have any elections. This graph shows by electoral divisions the divisions that had the highest to the lowest number of applications. So, it's basically in descending order. Stann Creek West electoral division, we got a total of 6,495 applicants, followed by the Orange Walk North, Orange Walk South, and it goes all the way down. The rural area is where we got most of the applications. So, you will notice that from out of the 121,000+ registered voters that we have, 65,472 applications were received in the rural areas, and that represents 53.89% of the number of applications. For the urban area, we received a total of 56,024 applications, and that represents a total of 46.11%. In almost all, in 30 of the 31 electoral divisions, you have more females applying to be registered, when compared to males. You will notice that persons between the age of 25 to 34 years-old, those are the persons who have applied to registered with the highest percentage. We notice that 86.89%, or 105,568 applications have been received for persons who are born Belizeans. This is by country of birth. So, this is telling us that we have 13.11% of the persons have applied who were born outside of the country of Belize. Here we have a breakdown. You'll notice that 7,606 persons, or 6.26% of the persons who have applied to be registered were born in Guatemala. The next highest was El Salvador."

The Chief Elections Officer says that they visited about 140 communities, villages, towns and the 2 cities countrywide. They are urging all eligible voters who have yet to go and get re-registered to still do so. The Department is hopeful that no-eligible voter will be disenfranchised by failing to get re-registered.

Re-registration continues until the end of September, which means that there are only 2 more weeks when the E and B Department will be actively re-registering voters. After that, they resume regular voter registration, but you can still go in and re-register. And, as we said earlier, it's important to do so, because the big voting exercise takes place next year, on April 10th, when citizens will vote yes or no to the ICJ. So, if you want to have a say in whether or not Belize settles Guatemala's claim over our country at the ICJ, make sure to go and get re-registered.

Channel 7

Final Update on the 2018 Re-registration of Electors Exercise

The Elections and Boundaries Department is pleased to present its Final update to the public on the 2018 Re-registration of Electors Exercise which concluded on 30th September, 2018.

A Final update is hereby provided as follows for the period 23rd to 30th September, 2018.During the period a total of Six Thousand, Three Hundred and Seventy-Six (6,376) applications were accepted, therefore the total number of applications received as at 30th September, 2018, is One Hundred and Thirty Thousand, Seven Hundred and Ninety-Two (130,792) or 63.78% of the registered electors, prior to the commencement of the Re-registration of Electors Exercise. The Department wishes to thank all those persons who participated in the 2018 Re-registration of Electors Exercise.

The public is hereby informed that all the applications that meet the qualifications for registration will be published in the New Registers of Electors; after which the revision of the Registers will be held.

The public is further informed that effective 1st October, 2018, all applications for registration is being accepted under the Continuous Registration Process. Those applications received from the 1st October, 2018 to 10th December, 2018 will be published on the 15th December, 2018 Supplementary List.

The Department hereby reminds eligible persons who wish to vote in the 2019 Referendum that the Cut-Off date to apply to be registered as electors is 10th March, 2019. The Elections and Boundaries Registration Offices countrywide is opened during normal working hours.

Register Today! "Your Right to Vote Depends on It.