November 11 is Election Day in Belize. Got phone call from the Prime Minister early this morning, so the Countdown is at 37 days. Angel Nunez

Office of the Prime Minister Announces Election Date

The Office of the Prime Minister hereby announces that the Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow has today advised the Governor General to dissolve the National Assembly of Belize on Tuesday, October 6, 2020. It was also advised to the Governor General to issue writs for the holding of General Elections on Wednesday, November 11, 2020 with Wednesday, October 21, 2020 as Nomination Day.

General Election Set For November 11, 180,000 Voters Will Choose

After weeks of intense speculation, the Prime Minister has finally set a date for the 2020 general election.

It will be on November 11th - 37 days from today.

So, the steps towards that are as follows: first, the National Assembly will be dissolved tomorrow, October 6th,

And then 15 days later, in October 21st, nomination day will be held.

And then, three weeks after that, it will be the elections date,

Importantly, even though parliament is dissolved, the constitution provides that the Prime Minister and his ministers retain the power of government up until the election.

Section 84(6) reads, quote: "During the period between the dissolution of the National Assembly and the appointment of a Prime Minister after a general election, the government of Belize shall continue to be administered by the Prime Minister and the other Ministers and Ministers of State of the Government."

So, to be clear, the executive retains its power to run the country.

Now, a little more than 180,000 registered voters are the ones who will have all the power on November 11th, but the experience they face at the polls will be very different due to COVID 19. All safety measures, including mask wearing, social distancing, hand sanitisation and no large groupings will be in effect at the polls.

That's a big change and the Chief Elections officer discussed it via zoom video conference:

Josephine Tamai, Chief Elections Officer
"Persons will now go to the polling stations. They will be expected to they has to be sanitized to enter the polling stations, social distancing the 6 feet social distancing will be strictly adhere to. We know it is the law that persons are required to use a face mask. That will be one of the things that will be strictly enforced. When the persons enter the polling station we encourage persons to take their voter's identification cards. The person will hold their identification cards themselves and announced their names. If they don't posses an identification card they will just announce their name and one of the reasons being that we don't want for the elections staff to have to hold anything that is unnecessary. Once the person announces their name they will need to take off their mask briefly for approximately 10 seconds, because we must identify the person. Whoever is there that this is the person who has presented him/her self for voting. Once that has been done the person will then be required to have his/her finger re-sanitized before dipping their finger into the electoral ink. Priority will be given to person who are disabled, the elderly and pregnant women. Those persons will be allowed to go to the front of the line. In communication with the ministry of health we have been informed that the risk is very minimal, if any at all, in terms of persons coming out to vote."

And, when it comes to counting the ballots, there will also be a major change there. All the polling stations will turn into counting stations, so the counting will not be done at central locations as in the past. This will make for a speedier counting process - and less social crowding.

There will also be a big change on nomination day. Usually, those mass political parades end up at large government complexes or town halls where all the candidates for that municipality and surrounding areas are nominated.

But, not so this around - that would cause too much crowding. Tamai explained:

Josephine Tamai, Chief Elections Officer
"Where we would normally have nomination for Belize City and you know its several different constituencies. What we are doing this time around we are identifying locations in the different constituencies so that nomination is spread across to avoid having so many persons in one location at any one time and it's something similar that we are doing in the other municipalities and in all constituencies to spread across and I will emphasized that sanitization will be done at nomination centers throughout the day and also at the polling stations throughout the day as well. Election day it will be something similar whenever we meet with the political parties we have to ensure that we don't have person even crowding up at a gate."

So, how do persons who are COVID 19 positive, and under home quarantine vote? Well, the chief elections officer told us, quote, 1. If you are in isolation or in quarantine, whatever quarantine laws that are in effect at that time will determine how you vote. Sounds like a cop out, but she says the quarantine authority determines movement of infected persons.

Channel 7

His Excellency the Governor General has issued a Writ of Election for the holding of a General Election to be held on Wednesday 11th November 2020. Polls will open at 7:00 a.m. and close at 6:00 p.m. Nominations for persons wishing to contest the election will be received on Wednesday 21st October 2020 between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. at the various nomination centers, countrywide.

Statutory Instrument No. 66 of 2004 states “The persons entitled to vote at the election of a divisional representative shall be those persons whose names appear on the register for that division as existing on the Nomination Day.”

With nomination day being the 21st October 2020 only persons who registered on or before 11th September 2020 are persons whose names appear on the register and are therefore eligible to vote in the General Election. This is in conformity with the time table mandated by the Representation of the People Registration Rules to ensure that the period guaranteed by law for making objections and the hearing of appeals by the Revising Officer is complied with. Persons who applied to be registered after 11th September 2020 would not have gone through the process required by law as of nomination day.

The Registers for each of the Electoral Divisions are posted at the Elections and Boundaries Offices countrywide and all registered electors are invited to visit the office to peruse the Register.


Elections and Boundaries Department - elections protocols during the pandemic
Belizeans will be going to the polls in November. Josephine Tamai, Chief Elections Officer at the Elections and Boundaries Department, shared the elections protocols that will be in place to ensure safe elections during the pandemic.

Kindly click the link below to view the Notice of Time and Place of Nomination from the Elections and Boundaries Department:
https://bit.ly/2F9HX9a

Kindly click the link below to view the Appointment of Returning Officer/Election Clerk from the Elections and Boundaries Department:
https://bit.ly/30IyKfE

Kindly click the link below to view Returning Officer/Election Clerk and Notice of Time and Place of Nomination Center from the Elections and Boundaries Department.
https://bit.ly/3jJguds

Kindly click the link below to view Addendum - General Elections, Changes in Appointment; Addendum - Notice of Time and Place; and Revision Notice from the Elections and Boundaries Department.

https://bit.ly/3nTTuLs

Elections and Boundaries Department - Nomination Centers, Polling Stations & Counting Stations. To access the list, kindly click the link below:

https://bit.ly/34g7nvC

THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT ELECTIONS DAY

With just a week before general elections in the country of #Belize, here's a few notes to serve as a reminder:

- A curfew will be in effect on election night as recommended by the National Oversight Committee. Curfew hours are as from 8:00 p.m. on election night, until 5:00 a.m. the following morning.
- Election Day - Wednesday, November 11, 2020 is to be observed as a Public and Bank Holiday.
- Social distancing, wearing of mask properly, and adhering to measures implemented by those in authority are to be observed/practiced.
- Polls open at 7:00 a.m. and closes at 6:00 p.m. on elections day.

General Elections are still scheduled for November 11, 2020

After Tropical Depression Eta brought devastating floods to the central and southern Belize region, allegations of the possible postponement of the November 11th General Elections spread on social media. Prime Minister Right Honourable Dean Barrow dismissed the rumours on Saturday, November 7th during a virtual press conference, saying that there are no provisions for such a postponement in the country’s Constitution, except in extreme circumstances caused by a major natural disaster like a Category 5 hurricane.

The Prime Minister addressed the fact that some voters may still be inconvenienced with the current floods and not be able to get out to vote. He said that if there is the need to have official agencies of the governmental agencies helping people get to the polls, it will have to be done in a manner that will not be seen as running afoul of any of the two major parties. “We sure have to at least contemplate doing something official to assist people to get to the polling stations. But the logistics will have to form [based] on meetings and discussions between the Leader of our United Democratic Party and the Leader of the People’s United Party,” said Barrow. He added that there is no disrespect to the other political parties, but that he mentioned only two because they are the major political groups in the country.

Click here to read the rest of the article by in the San Pedro Sun

Video: The Voting Process: