Elections and Boundaries Department
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The Belize Elections and Boundaries Department is the hands-on administrator of Belizean electoral politics. It was established in 1989 as a subordinate to the Elections and Boundaries Commission.
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[edit] Mission Statement
As articulated by the EBD itself: "The Elections and Boundaries Department is committed to the enhancement of democracy through the promotion of voter education and the maintenance of a legitimate, impartial, valid electoral process."
[edit] Establishment of the EBD
The EBD was established by amendment to the Belize Constitution in 1988. The new amendment allowed the EBD's parent body, the EBC, to confer on it its powers in the constitution and the ROPA. Staffing the Department was delegated to the Public Services Commission, which nominated all persons in the department including, after a further amendment in 2001, the Chief Elections Officer. The Department and Chief Elections Officer is now under the control of the Prime Minister's Office and reports to him as well as the Commission.
The current Chief Elections Officer is Dorothy Bradley, who succeeded Stuart Leslie in December 2006.
[edit] Functions of the EBD
The functions of the Department are grouped into three categories: Electoral Administration, Adjustment of Electoral Records, and Voter Education. Under these are the following:
- Organizing and directing the registration of voters
- Compiling electoral registers
- Updating and maintaining electoral records
- Organizing the conduct of elections
- Preside over the orderly transfer of Electors
- To operate a professional electoral service
- To strengthen public confidence in the electoral system
- To increase the level of voter participation through voter education
[edit] Organization
The EBD's central office is in Belize City, ironically the municipality with the largest concentration of voters in the country, at P.O. Box 913, Mahogany Street Extension. Other offices include:
- Belize District offices:
- Sub-Office: San Pedro Ambergris Caye (Belize Rural South only)
- Belize Rural North, Central, South: #120A New Road, Belize City
- Caribbean Shores, Pickstock, Fort George, Freetown: #92 North Front and Victoria Streets, Belize City
- Collet, Mesopotamia, Lake Independence: #4 Vernon Street, Belize City
- Albert, Queen's Square, Port Loyola: #89 Euphrates Avenue, Belize City
- Corozal District(Corozal North, Bay, South East and South West): 49 4 th Avenue, Corozal Town
- Orange Walk District (Orange Walk East, South, Central and North Electoral Divisions) : #1A Santa Maria Street, Orange Walk Town
- Cayo District:
- Cayo North, Central, West and Northeast: #36 Burns Avenue, San Ignacio Town
- Cayo South and Belmopan: Market Square, City of Belmopan
- Sub-Office: Benque Viejo del Carmen Post Office(Every second Thursday each month)
- Stann Creek District (Dangriga and Stann Creek West):#16 Tubroose Street, Dangriga
- Toledo District (Toledo East and West): #18 West Street, Punta Gorda Town
- Sub-Office: #135 Fadden's Avenue, Independence Village, Stann Creek District
The offices are staffed with Registering Officers, Assistant Registering Officers, and Data Clerks to take care of the process of registering to vote.
[edit] Process of voter registration
Only registered voters have the right to elect Political Leaders at the National and Municipal level. Who is eligible to register to vote? Every person who is: 18 years or over, A citizen of: Belize, Any Commonwealth Country who has resided in Belize for not less than 12 months, or Any Commonwealth Country who is domiciled in Belize, AND Resident in the electoral division not less than 2 months.
[edit] Where to register?
Visit the Registration Office of Elections and Boundaries Department in your Area. Twelve District Offices countrywide are manned by Registration Officers.
[edit] How to register?
Verbatim from the EBD website:
- Make a personal application: Take proof of eligibility to the Registration Office in your area, either a birth certificate, passport, or naturalization certificate. Fill out and sign Application Form and Record Card, then take a photograph for the ID Card and the Record Card.
- An Investigation is carried out by Registration Officers to verify residence and other particulars.
- A temporary list of applicants called "Supplementary List" is prepared by the Registering Officer for public scrutiny from 15th to the 25th of the month. These are posted at all Registration Offices.
- If there are objections during the 15th to the 25th, the following is completed before proceeding to Revision Court:
The persons objected to, are informed by registered mail The names of the persons objected to, are published in one newspaper and the Gazette
- The Revising Officer in a Revision Court approves the Supplementary List at the end of each month.
- A Revised List is prepared. Only those on the Revised List become Registered Electors. The Revision Court is the sole authority to decide who will remain on the monthly Revised List.
- ID Cards are issued to those on the Revised List approximately one week after the Revision Court.
[edit] What is the Cycle for Voter Registration?
The process of registration is continuous and it is conducted every working day. The process for a month is closed on the 10th in order to prepare the Temporary or Supplementary List for the 15th as required by law. The Monthly Cycle is from the 11th of one month to the 10th of the other, for example:
August - 11th of July to the 10th of August July - 11th of June to the 10th of July
If a person applies on or before the 10th June, the process will be completed with June's Revision Court at the end of June. If a person applies on the 11th of June or later, the process will be completed with July's Revision Court at the end of July. A Revised List is posted in all Registration Offices on or before the 5th of the month or immedialty after Revision Court. Copies of all monthly transactions are shared with the two major Political Parties.
[edit] What about the Revision Court?
The monthly Revision is held at the Magistrate Courts in all five District Towns and the Cities of Belmopan and Belize. Each Revision Court session is presided over by a Magistrate at the end of every month. The Court has until the 5th day of the following month to complete its determination of all matters.
[edit] Who sets the Revision Court date?
Registration Officers and or the Chief Elections Officer based on the legal requirements and the schedule of each Magistrate.
[edit] References
All references are to the website of the Elections and Boundaries Department (see External link).
