LAST ELECTIONS
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Archive of past election results for this chamber
In the previous elections held in March 2003, Prime Minister Musa's People's United Party (PUP) had won 22 of the 29 seats at stake, becoming the first party ever to win a second consecutive term in office since the country gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1981. The opposition United Democratic Party (UDP) had taken the remainder.
However, Prime Minister Musa's second term was marred by several incidents. In 2005, the introduction of higher taxes intended to repay the country's US$ 3 billion foreign debt triggered riots. The UDP also alleged that Prime Minister Musa had distributed US$ 10 million, received as aid from Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, to PUP supporters.
At stake in the 2008 elections were 31 seats in the enlarged House of Representatives. In all, 93 candidates, including three women, contested the elections. Although three other political parties - the National Reform Party (NRP), the Vision Inspired by the People (VIP), and the National Belizean Alliance (NBA) - also ran, the elections saw once again a duel between the PUP and the UDP, each of which fielded candidates for all the 31 parliamentary seats. The NPR and the NBA had 11 candidates each, while the VIP had four. In addition, there were five independent candidates.
In mid-January, the PUP presented its manifesto entitled "Blueprint - Believe in Belize". It promised to cut income tax, create new jobs, fight crime, and provide a laptop PC for every school child. It also presented a detailed proposal for a new 14-member Senate that would be elected using the proportional representation system, starting from 2009.
The UDP leader, Mr. Dean Oliver Barrow,, firmly opposed the idea of an elected Senate and called for a boycott of the referendum. He nevertheless agreed on the need to reform the Senate, insisting that one additional non-partisan senator should be appointed so as to give a combined majority to the members appointed on the advice of the opposition and non-partisan members.
The UDP's "21 pledges" focused on lowering the cost of living through various measures, including lower sales tax and electricity and telephone rates. It accused the PUP of corruption and mismanagement.
A total of 74.49 per cent of the 156,000 registered voters cast their ballot in the elections. However, only 46.63 per cent voted in the referendum, of which 61.54 per cent supported an elected Senate, while 36.60 per cent did not.
The final results gave 25 seats to the UDP, with over 56 per cent of the valid votes. Although the PUP won over 40 per cent of the valid votes, it obtained only six seats. None of the other parties secured more than eight per cent of the votes. No women were elected.
On 8 February, Mr. Barrow was sworn in as the new Prime Minister.
| Round no 1 (7 February 2008): Election results | ||||
| Number of registered electors | 156'993 | |||
| Voters | 116'943 (74.49%) | |||
| Blank or invalid ballot papers | 749 | |||
| Valid votes | 116'194 | |||
| Round no 1: Distribution of votes | ||||||||||
| Political Group | Candidates | Votes | % | |||||||
| United Democratic Party (UDP) | 66'203 | 56.61 | ||||||||
| People's United Party (PUP) | 47'624 | 40.72 | ||||||||
| Round no 1: Distribution of seats | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political Group | Total | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| United Democratic Party (UDP) | 25 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| People's United Party (PUP) | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
- National Assembly (04.03.2008)
- http://www.belize-elections.org/
Also available:
Archive of past election results for this chamber
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