Electoral System

The Elections and Boundaries Commission, enshrined in the Belize Constitution, comprises a Chairman and four members, each of whom serves five year terms. The Chairman and two of the members are appointed by the Governor General in consultation with the Prime Minister, and the other two members are appointed on recommendation of the Prime Minister with the concurrence of the leader of the opposition. The commission is exclusively responsible for the “direction and supervision of the registration of voters and the conduct of elections,”¹ and is empowered to make periodic proposals on boundary redistricting to the House of Representatives.

The Elections and Boundaries Department, established in 1989, is responsible for the day-to-day administration of all phases of the electoral process.  Headed by the Chief Elections Officer, the Department operates under the oversight of the Office for Good Governance which is under the auspices of the Office of the Prime Minister. According to the electoral code, the Representation of the People Act, the department is endowed with three functions: