BELIZE CITY, Tues. Feb. 27, 2024
Former Port Loyola Area Representative, Anthony “Boots” Martinez in recent weeks raised security concerns about two polling stations in the division which are in very close proximity to each other along Fabers Road. Those are Excelsior High School (Polling Station No. 22A), which will be used by Port Loyola residents, and St. John Vianney Primary School (Polling Station No. 21), which is where some Queen’s Square electors will cast their votes for the March 6th municipal elections. He noted, as an aside, that Excelsior is not even in the Port Loyola Division.
When he first raised the issue on February 20, Martinez pointed out, “2,009 people are asked from the Jane Usher Boulevard area to go to Excelsior to vote; 1,440 people need to pass through the same area to go to Muslim School to vote; 1,600 plus people who vote in Queen’s Square are asked to go to St. John Vianney to vote. You can’t get a 100-yard barrier from Excelsior to St. John Vianney. So what kind of chaos will they have? Then, you have the healthcare facility right beside Excelsior.” His main concern is about the gang rivalries in the area. He affirmed, “I hope that the Chief Elections Officer would really consider citizen security.” He noted that over the years, “a majority of people from the Yarborough area, Caesar Ridge Road area, Queen Charlotte Street area, has been transferring to Pickstock and Fort George. And why? Because there is a problem with them going to vote at Muslim School over the period of time.” He remarked that while he was the area representative, he observed that some men who had to vote at the Muslim School had no other choice to go there, but that they had “problems to cross the barrier. No way dehn could pass soh easy. Fabers Road dah wahn problem. Coming down the Boulevard dah wahn problem. Coming up the next side ah Boulevard dah wahn problem.” He questioned why the polling station was moved from the Customs building. According to Martinez, the last time a convention was held at St. John Vianney for Port Loyola, there was chaos there, and he says if there is a repeat of such activity, it would bring extra pressure on the police. He also believes there will be a great traffic congestion.
Chief Elections Officer, Josephine Tamai today told Amandala that they made the switch away from the Customs building because there is an increase in the number of registered voters, and so they need four polling stations, and if they had remained at Customs, they would have required tents. She affirmed, though, that they did their ground work and also checked with the Police Department, and they “confirmed that they would be able to provide security as they usually do when it comes to elections.” Tamai also shared that their registration office in the area caters to people from Albert, Port Loyola and Queen’s Square, and they have never had a problem when people from the different divisions are seeking services.
As to chaos and reduced space, Tamai notes that the only time people would congregate outside is before polls open “because the lines will be inside of the compound.”
For his part, Commissioner of Police Chester Williams said they will ensure there is sufficient security in the area to allow all voters to cast their vote without any impediment. The Compol says they will have reinforcements from Belmopan for the municipal elections.