Claimant Jeremy Enriquez filed a legal injunction to halt the upcoming general election in Belize on Tuesday, February 11th, citing the absence of a constitutionally mandated redistricting exercise. On Wednesday, February 12th, he and his attorney, Trinidadian Anand Ramlogan, attempted to persuade the High Court to compel the Prime Minister to reverse his decision regarding the election date.
The seven-hour debate in court concluded without a decision, though one is expected to be made early next week after both parties submit their arguments regarding the case. The primary argument presented was that holding elections without redrawing electoral boundaries violates the principle of equal representation. They contend that significant disparities in constituency sizes undermine the democratic process. In response, the government asserted that it had met its constitutional obligations by submitting redistricting proposals to the National Assembly.
In his court argument, Ramlogan emphasized that Belize must hold elections by the constitution, which mandates that the 31 constituencies be nearly equal in voter population. He highlighted the current disparity, using Mesopotamia as an example, which has around 2,500 votes, compared to Stann Creek West, which has more than 10,000 votes.
Enriquez said his team sent a precaution letter to both the government and the Governor General regarding the injunction. “We did not get that response from the Governor General or the minister in charge. They just went ahead, kind of ambushed us to get the process done to call the elections without redistricting,” he said. “But I am still hopeful that the judges are reviewing the situation, and we will see what happens from there.”
The government’s response to the injunction requested the court to dismiss the application. The government’s legal representation argued that the court lacks jurisdiction and should not consider such an injunction or application. They also noted that the injunction was filed late.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Dr. John Briceño stated on January 13th that redistricting will occur after the general election set for March 12th. “As soon as we are in office, that will be a priority,” he said. “We need to carry out redistricting in the next government, and I plan to work on it.” Briceño indicated that the Elections and Boundaries Commission would handle this task, after which it would be debated in Parliament.
