National Elections Announced For March 12th: 6 Interesting Facts about Elections in Belize

We’ve known that Belize’s National Elections were coming but the official announcement was just made last week. General Elections will be held March 12th. A blissfully compact campaigning period of one month is mandated (it can be up to 3 months – one month is the minimum).

Unlike the USA, where national elections are on a fixed date, every 4 years and campaign season seems to last FOREVER, General Elections in Belize are announced by the incumbent administration within 5 years of the previous election.

Earlier this week, the People’s United Party leader and current PM Johnny Briceno announced that it is time to seek a new mandate.

It certainly can’t hurt that the opposition party, the United Democratic Party, is in a bit of disarray. With lots of infighting about who the leader of the party is – though Shyne Barrow seems to have prevailed. (You can read a bit about “the war” for Party leadership here, if you like)

The last National Election was Nov 11, 2020 and the one before that, November 4, 2015. This 2025 election HAD to be announced before November and it was announced early.

So what to expect on March 12th, election day in Belize.

Belize will be electing 31 area representatives for the constituencies. There are 6 districts in Belize, 7 towns, and hundreds of villages split into 31 constituencies.

San Pedro and the broader Ambergris Caye are part of the Belize Rural South District, which is comprised of Ambergris Caye, Caye Caulker, and St. George’s Caye.

(An approxmation of voters totals – In the 2024 Municipal elections, there were about 8700 registered voters in San Pedro and about 5400 voted in that election)

Also, I have no idea why we are called Belize Rural South. We are not rural and we are not south of Belize City.

Here are the candidates for our 2025 elections.

Minister Andre Perez, incumbent and member of the PUP

Dani Lagha, running with the UDP or United Democrat Party. Dani was born in Lebanon and is a Belizean citizen.

And as of March 18th, we have ANOTHER UDP Candidate – which is just…crazy. Unprecedented in Belize politics. The schism in the UDP means we now have candidates who are on Team Shyne and candidates that are on Team Tracy Panton. As Channel 7 news called it last night, it’s a “recipe for mass confusion”

The addition to the slate is our former Minister Manuel Heredia.

And Belizeans Justice Movement party candidate, Abner Bacab.

Nomination Day is February 24th – similar to the USA Party Conventions – where the candidates officially register to run for Area Representative.

In San Pedro, like many events in Belize, it involves music and dancing, people dressed in the party colors and blowing horns. It’s a rally to bring your candidate to the official spot to register to run.

Beware…you might get caught in a parade! My family was visiting in 2018 and accidentally joined a PUP parade in town and STILL sing the PUP jingles.

31 representatives around Belize will be elected – and the majority winner of these 31 will choose their prime minister. Either Johnny Briceno for the PUP or Shyne Barrow for the UDP. (Shyne almost certainly has the longest Wikipedia page of any Belizean politician- he has a very interesting and varied past)

Mr Brinceno has been the PM for the last five years. The PUP won 26 of 31 seats in the House of Representatives in 2020.

The incumbent party’s flag. The People’s United Party. Top half blue, bottom half white.

The challengers: United Democratic Party.  The 6 dots stand for the 6 districts of Belize:  Orange Walk, Corozal, Belize, Cayo, Stann Creek, Toledo.

I have witnessed a few Belizean elections in my 18+ years as a resident and many more in the USA…and each can be exciting for different reasons…

In the US, actual voting is generally an individual, more solemn affair.  Campaigning is not allowed within a certain distance of the polling station.  On election day, most of the action and results are viewed on TV often in the evening into the later night. And it can take time…

Here in Belize, rallying, campaigning, parading…they all take place around the polling station (we have two polling stations) – it’s actually a pretty exciting day.   When you go to vote, it’s like you are walking into a festival area.

Festive, yes but NO DRINKING. There is no alcohol sold in town (at stores or bars) on election day UNTIL the votes are counted.

Here are some interesting and new things to me about elections in Belize. (THE MOST EXCITING THING to me is that I can now vote – you can read about how I became a citizen of Belize here)

1.  You vote by pen on paper and you get an inked finger!  It is a 100% in-person, one-day-only affair.

• The process is:
  – enter voting room. give your id card for your name to be called and found on their list that you are to vote in that area.
  – once verified, then go to the next person who will ask you to dip your right index finger up to the first joint into the ink
  – once done, you then get your ballot paper
  – that paper has the signature of the one supervising the voting.
  – so you go, then put your “X” with the pencil next to the names.
  – fold the paper with the signature of the one that provided it showing.
  – show them that it is folded and the signature is visible, then put in ballot box.

I wonder if the purple is a mix of the two parties’ colors. The ink is NOT for voting, like I first imagined, it is a stain on your fingers (it’s quite hard to fully remove) to prove that you have already voted.

2.  Last minute influence attempting is a big part of it.  The parties set up booths, flags, snacks, organizers, influencers, blasting music as close to the polling area as they can. 

In San Pedro, it all happens at the High School or at the RC School in the middle of town.  Parties even set up giant ballots to make sure you KNOW who they want you to vote for.

3.  Like the British system, the National elections must be called and can be held at any time of year.  Town and city elections are scheduled for the first Wed in March of every third year

National Elections – the National Assembly is dissolved under the advice of the Prime Minister and elections must take place within 3 months (a minimum of one month).  So elections can be any time of the year. This keeps the campaigning to just a few months…thank goodness! The US systems of 1 year campaigns (or longer) can be exhausting and ridiculously expensive!

The timing is carefully strategized.  Does the other party seem disorganized?  Has there just been a huge scandal on their side?  Has your party done something popular?  Might be a good time to call elections.

4.  The winner is in and the loser is out.  Immediately.  Unlike the US system where there is a pass-over/transition period (peaceful we hope) – in Belize, the winner is in the next day.  And the parading ensues

5.  To vote, you must be a citizen of Belize but…  

For an American in Belize – that requires 5 years as a permanent resident living in the country – and then you can apply for your dual citizenship.  BUT if you are a resident of a commonwealth country (from Canada to South Africa to Ghana to India) and residing in Belize for 12 months or more, you can register to vote.

Here is how I became a citizen of Belize in August 2023. I moved here in 2007, I became a resident in early 2011. And I was eligible to apply for citizenship in 2016. But didn’t get my application together and sent off until October 2022 – I was sworn in less than a year later!

6.  Election Day is a national holiday.  And there is no alcohol served or sold this day.    At least until the votes are counted.  (This was the law in most of the USA years ago – and is still true only in certain parts of Alaska and Puerto Rico)

Alcohol sales resume when the votes are counted.

There are no firearms allowed at polling stations – which should be obvious in my book – but apparently, it’s not a given. 

So there it is…elections will be on March 12th. You can expect lots of flags and people in party tee shirts driving around town over the next few weeks. Good luck to both parties! And I’ll see you at the polls.

Oh! And the answer for the names of 6 Districts of Belize: Belize District (we are part of that one though I would imagine at some point we will be big enough to be our own district?), Corozal, Orange Walk, Cayo, Stann Creek and Toledo District.