Department of Electoral Cooperation and Observation
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Belize - MOE General Election on November 4, 2015
Political System
Belize operates with a parliamentary democracy modeled on the Westminster system. The constitutional head of state is Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, who is represented in the country by a Governor-General, an honorary appointment made on the advice of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister and Cabinet make up the Executive Branch, while a 31-member elected House of Representatives and a 12-member appointed Senate form a bicameral legislature. Following general elections, the Governor General will usually nominate the leader of the majority party as Prime Minister, and the Cabinet is chosen and sworn-in on the Prime Minister’s advice.

On November 4, voters will go to the polls to elect all 31 members of the House of Representatives, each of whom serve terms not to exceed five years. Members represent individual constituencies and are elected by a simple majority vote in a single-member, first past the post system. All Belizean citizens who have reached the age of eighteen are entitled to register to vote, provided they are residents in Belize on the date of registration. Commonwealth citizens may also vote if they have been residents in Belize for at least twelve months prior to registration. Dual citizenship is recognized by Belize for the purpose of voting, but dual nationals are not qualified to be appointed to the Senate or elected to the House of Representatives.

General Elections are held at intervals not longer than five years. The Prime Minister has the right to advise the Governor-General to dissolve the National Assembly at any time in this period and thus determine the date of the general elections. Belize has two Electoral Management Bodies, the Elections and Boundaries Commission and the Elections and Boundaries Department, each of which is a separate legal entity.