Residents protest, demanding a recount

BELIZE CITY, Mon. June 24, 2019– Village Council Elections began in earnest in 35 villages across Belize yesterday, Sunday, and will continue for another 5 weeks. Residents of each village will elect six councilors and a chairperson.

But already an apparent irregularity has occurred in one town where elections were held. This morning a stack of ballot papers were discovered in a ballot box inside a classroom on Caye Caulker, where balloting had taken place.

This discovery sent a number of residents protesting on the island, in front of the Caye Caulker Police Station. The protestors were demanding a recount in the wake of the ballot box inside the classroom.

We made several phone calls to the Elections and Boundaries Department in an effort to get a comment on this situation from Chief Elections Officer, Josephine Tamai. Tamai, however, did not return our phone calls.

While we were unsuccessful in getting a comment from the Chief Elections Officer, our colleagues at KREM News were able to get a comment from Tamai.

Tamai told KREM News that based on the report she received from the elections clerk, all ballots on Caye Caulker were already reconciled.

Tamai added that the counted ballots were unfortunately left on a desk at the school and there will be no recount of the ballots in the Caye Caulker elections.

Tamai told KREM News that the election clerk is conducting a verification process to address all concerns relating to the handling of the ballots in the hopes that all ballots are accounted for.

Tamai said that appeal of the results of the elections to the Elections and Boundaries Commission can be made 7 days after the official publication of the results.

The elections continue next week Sunday.