The year 2012 is proving to be a very interesting year for the Belizean electorate. Initially, only the municipal elections were billed to be called this year; however, the Barrow administration has called early general elections to coincide with the municipal elections.
The Belize Coalition to Save Our Natural Heritage was hoping that election day, March 7, would also be the date when the Belizean populace would be asked, via a national referendum, for their position on offshore drilling.
However, with just over 8,000 voters rejected from the list of petitioners, the Governor-General has declared that the requisite 10% of the voting population has not signed to trigger the referendum.
The Coalition is not backing down on its movement, however, and since the Government will not have the referendum, they will next Wednesday, February 29, hold what they call “The People’s Referendum”—just in advance of the general elections, in the hope that any party forming the new government on March 8 will know what the people’s will is on offshore drilling.
Audrey Matura-Shepherd, a leading member of the Coalition and the vice president of Oceana in Belize, told Amandala that there is the need to let the new government know that this is an issue we need the government to address.
“I hope the next government formed after March 7 is one that realizes there is people power,” she commented.
We asked, “And if it’s the same leadership?”
“We will continue. We have always said it does not matter to us. It does not matter to us which party, which prime minister, the issue remains,” Matura-Shepherd responded. “People realize it is an issue and have stuck to the issue.”
Matura-Shepherd also shared with us the results of a poll the Coalition commissioned to Belizean researcher Yasmine Andrews, who has recently done pre-election polls. The Coalition poll sampled 4,000 from a national phone database and the Coalition had the results of that poll compared with the results of a poll of 4,000 from among the petitioners who gave their phone numbers when they signed the petition forms saying that they want the Government to proceed with the referendum.
We asked her what struck her about the results. “What struck us is that they [the results of the two polls] are so similar!” She noted that no one was allowed to participate in both polls.
“We wanted to test support in the petition against what the country was thinking,” she explained.
In both polls, the vast majority of the respondents (roughly 90%) say NO to offshore drilling. In a second question asking whether the respondent would vote for offshore drilling, less than 1 in 5 said yes.
According to the poll results, more than 90% said they would like to have an opportunity to vote on whether offshore exploration and drilling should occur.
A vast majority also disagree with government not allowing the referendum.
The respondents to the poll also largely encouraged the Coalition to stay in the fight.
Asked why they thought GOB “called off” the referendum, most say that it is really because the Government wants offshore drilling.
As for the next steps, the respondents say “call the people to action.” Some are encouraging a people’s demonstration while others say, take GOB to court!
“The poll vindicated us and we hope that on referendum day, people come out,” said Matura-Shepherd.
She told us that voters can bring any form of ID, because they will have the electoral database to check that the person is a registered voter. It does not matter in which division one is registered, she said, because anyone will be able to vote at any polling station—but only once on referendum day. Once a person votes, the database will be updated to prevent that person from voting twice, and they will have to dip their finger in crude-oil colored, black ink.
The Oceana VP said that the ballot has already been created.
Whereas both the Justice of the Peace Association and the Council of Churches have been invited to observe the referendum, only the JP Association has so far accepted, said Matura-Shepherd. She said that they had also written some international agencies to come observe the referendum, but the Coalition is awaiting a response.
She said that the Coalition is still asking for volunteers and for persons who are able to contribute in cash or kind.
Some in the private sector have been supporting. Radisson has donated a venue for training volunteers, as well as food for the sessions, whereas Maya Island Air will fly the volunteers if they have to move around the country. Matura-Shepherd said they are calling on people in the hotel industry to support as well.