National Assembly

On Wednesday, August 16th, the ‘Know Yuh Rights’ lecture series, a nationwide campaign to better understand the Belize Constitution, occurred at the Angel Nuñez Auditorium in San Pedro Town. The public event is an ongoing effort by the People’s Constitution Commission (PCC) to present a comprehensive review of the Belize Constitution, consult the population, obtain feedback, and submit a final report on the findings to the Prime Minister. At the end of the process, the National Assembly will decide if Belizeans must move to repeal or amend the current Constitution.

During the recent sitting of the House of Representatives in the Capital City of Belmopan, the government introduced the 11th Amendment, which seeks to elevate the standard of members in the National Assembly. One feature of the bill is raising concerns with the Opposition in that it seeks to disqualify anyone from being an elected government member if convicted of a major crime and sentenced to over a year in Belize or the Commonwealth. Honorable Dr. Shyne Barrow, the Leader of the Opposition, was incarcerated in the United States for almost a decade and took this as a personal attack. The government, however, explained that it was not about Barrow’s situation but an attempt to set higher standards.

Cabinet considered and approved the joint plan from the Attorney General’s Ministry and the Ministry of E-Governance for a program to strengthen the civil registry. This will achieve a more efficient civil registry program, modernizing and improving all services of the Vital Statistics Unit through the establishment of a pertinent legal policy framework, simplified procedures and an inclusive and accessible online service.

For the first time, a Cuban leader visited Belize on Sunday, February 12th. The First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba and President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez were officially visiting the Jewel, where he was invited to an extraordinary joint session of the National Assembly. The historic visit was a sign of the strong ties between both countries. The visit was also the opportunity to sign two agreements between Belize and Cuba, and the United States (U.S.) urged to lift sanctions on the island nation.

Sunday, February 12th, for the first time, a Cuban President will visit Belize. His Excellency (H.E.) Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez will arrive in the country and attend a Special Sitting of the National Assembly, a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Honourable Dr. John Briceño. The program will also see the leaders signing two agreements.

The postponement of the marijuana referendum on whether to legalize the production and sale of this drug may take a bit longer due to the threat of losing affiliated financial institutions in the United States of America (USA). The banking sector in Belize may present a roadblock to the Cannabis and Industrial Hemp Control and Licensing Bill 2022, which has already been passed in the National Assembly.

While there is no set date yet, the Council of Churches has been able to trigger a referendum exercise on whether to legalize cannabis/marijuana in Belize. They managed to get the request approved through petitions by meeting the required 10% threshold, which equals 20,000 signatures. Belizeans will now be asked if they agree with legalizing the production and sale of marijuana. The topic has generated mixed opinions nationwide, particularly in San Pedro Town, Ambergris Caye.

On Friday, May 13, 2022, Hon. Oscar Requena, Minister of Rural Transformation, Community Development, Labour and Local Government, presented a bill in the National Assembly, for the repeal and replacement of the Trade Licensing Act, Chapter 66 of the Laws of Belize, Revised Edition, 2020.