Self-Government 1963 — National Assembly 1963 — National Assembly 1981
SELF GOVERNMENT 1963 — The National Assembly of 1963
In 1963 Belize gained full internal self-government, the final formal step before independence. One significance of self-government was that responsibility for certain affairs of the country was in the control of the elected leaders. However, the Governor was still in charge of Foreign Affairs, Defence, Internal Security and Civil Service. The 1963 amended Constitution formed the National Assembly, and introduced the bicameral legislature or bicameralism. The bicameral system consists of two legislative (law making) houses or chambers; which are the House of Representatives and the Senate. The idea is that the bicameral system distributes power within the two houses that should check and balance each other, rather than concentrating power in a single or unicameral body. The National Assembly was such a body whereby the House of Representatives consisting of all elected leaders oftentimes introduced bills (laws), and sent to the Senate for confirmation.
The House of Representatives was presided over by a Speaker, and the Senate by a President who was appointed from among or outside the membership of the House. Presently the Senate is composed of 13 members—six appointed on the advice of the Prime minister, three appointed on the advice of the Leader of the Opposition; one each on the advice of Chamber of Commerce and the Belize Business Bureau, the Council of Churches, the National Trade Union Congress, the NGOs. The Cabinet became the policy-making arm of the government headed by the Premier, the Hon George Cadle Price. All members of Cabinet were drawn from the National Assembly.
Amendments made in 1978 were of great importance in our election history for two main reasons.
- A new registration system introduced the Voter Identification Card
- Eligibility to register as elector extended to 18 year olds
- The Election and Boundaries Commission became a reality.
The first general election under these new changes was held on November 21, 1979. Some 44,990 voters representing 89.9% of the total electorate turned out to vote. The United Democratic Party (UDP) gained 5 seats, while the PUP garnered 13 seats to form the government. Hon. George Cadle Price continued to lead the government as the Premier of British Honduras.
ELECTIONS IN POST-INDEPENDENT BELIZE to 2020
After nearly 200 years of British rule, September 21, 1981 heralded the independence of Belize. There was a new Constitution in the horizon, a Belize Constitution. Belize attained independence under the leadership of Premier Hon. George Cadle Price, who became Belize’s first Prime Minister. A Belizean Government was now responsible for both the internal and external affairs of the country. Full independence also meant that a Governor General replace the Governor as representative of the Queen of England as Head of State in Belize. The Belize Constitution, which was passed on September 20, 1981, became the supreme law of Belize. It calls for a National Assembly consisting of two houses, the House of Representative and the Senate. Members of the House of Representatives are all elected members. The number of the members of the House of Representatives increased to 28 in 1984 by Act No. 16, later to 29 in 1993, and to 31 since 2005. The Prime Minister chairs the Cabinet which is the policy arm of the government. The size of Cabinet in members varies, and members are selected from elected members, and presently may also include members of the Senate.
The first election after the attainment of independence was held on December 14, 1984. Some 64,441 electors were registered and 49,311 electors representing 74.9% of total electors went to the polls. The UDP won this first election after independence to form the government under Prime Minister Hon. Manuel Esquivel. The PUP lost for the very first time since the first national election under universal adult suffrage in 1954, a total of seven consecutive elections garnered, and some 30 years of involvement in governing.
Eight other general elections have been conducted since then, the last being November 11, 2020. The victorious party was the PUP, who have won four out of the nine parliamentary elections in post-independent Belize. To date, Belize has seen five Prime Ministers: Rt. Hon. George Cadle Price 1979 – 1984 and 1989 – 1993, Hon. Manuel Esquivel 1984 – 1989, Rt. Hon Said Musa 1993 – 2003 and 2003 – 2008, Rt. Hon Dean Barrow 2008 – 2012; 2012 – 2015 and 2015 – 2020, and presently as of November 2020 Hon John Briceno. Musa served for two consecutive, full-term governments in post-independent Belize. While Barrow presided over three consecutive governments, two of the three were not full-term. Rt. Hon. George Cadle Price was the Premier until the attainment of independence in September 1981when he became the first Prime Minister.
Historically, since the first formal Constitution in 1853, amendments have been made which significantly altered governance in the Settlement of Belize to the Town of Belize to the Country of Belize. Since the attainment of independence Belize has experienced alterations in the Constitution. The first alteration of the Constitution by the UDP in 1988 included changes to Section 88, which represents a function of Elections and Boundaries Commission. This resulted in watering down the role and power of the Commission and established a second electoral management body called the Elections and Boundaries Department in 1989. The Department became responsible for electoral administration with staff under the direct jurisdiction of the Public Service.
Three-quarters (75%) of all members of the House of Representatives, a super majority win of 23 seats can amend specific and IMPORTANT areas of the Belize Constitution — fundamental rights and freedoms, democracy, governance, judiciary. Any other section of the Constitution except those listed above can be amended by two-thirds (21) of all members of the House of Representatives (Ref. “Belize Constitution: Making Alterations). The PUP garnered a super majority with 83.9% of the seats in the November 2020 parliamentary elections. Although the governance framework and strategies to be employed have not been publicly established; a ministry charged with constitutional and political reform has been introduced. This is an original—a new business of government.
References:
Electoral Politics BELIZE: The Naked Truth, I Myrtle Palacio 2011
A Framework for Voter Education, I Myrtle Palacio 2004
Who and What in Belizean Elections 1954 to 1993, I Myrtle Palacio 1993