_{(l-r) Senior Counsel Anand Ramlogan and Jeremy Enriquez – Advocating for Redistricting}

New, powerful challenge calls for redistricting to precede general elections

BELIZE CITY, Wed. Feb. 5, 2025

Many Belizeans were in anticipation of Prime Minister John Briceño making the big announcement of a date for the next general elections at this Friday’s House of Representatives meeting in Belmopan. With the UDP in disarray, and the economy seeming to be cruising along smoothly, the timing seemed about right for another big PUP victory. But the latest legal challenge may have put a pause on such plans, despite the temptation to adapt the Trumpian approach and just ignore the opinions of the court, on whose bedrock our democratic structure is built.

Jeremy Enriquez, Rudolph Noralez, and Jessica Tulcey (BPP town councillor candidate in the 2024 municipal elections) are mounting a legal challenge against the holding of another general election without a redistricting exercise being conducted beforehand. Their constitutional claim is to be litigated by former Trinidadian Attorney General, Anand Ramlogan from Freedom Law Chambers in Trinidad. Apart from Trinidad, Ramlogan practices law in England, and has now been called to the private bar in Belize.

On Tuesday, February 4, Ramlogan wrote a 14-page pre-action protocol letter addressed to the Attorney General, the Speaker of the House and the Chairman of the Election and Boundaries Commission notifying of the claim to come, which, he writes, “concerns the anticipated breach of their constitutional rights that will occur if general elections are called and held on the basis of the existing electoral district boundaries.” He later states that failure to conduct a redistricting exercise before another general election will “lead to a constitutional crisis and legal proceedings to invalidate the election results.”

The Enriquez, et al. constitutional claim would be separate from the Belize Peace Movement (BPM) case currently before the High Court, which seeks to declare Schedule 1 of the Representation of the People Act (ROPA) unconstitutional, given that no redistricting exercise has been held as constitutionally mandated.

Referencing the consent order in the original BPM case of 2019, Ramlogan affirms that “It was always clear that the boundaries would have to be redefined in time for the next election.” He then outlines the actions taken by the State via the Attorney General to draft the Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which was introduced at the House of Representatives in May 2024. However, from there, it never made it to debate, as it was sent to committee and has not been brought back. Ramlogan affirms that the State needs to enact the proposals submitted by the Commission, and adds that despite its majority in the House, the Government has not ensured that parliament debates and passes the bill. We note, though, that leaders of both mass political parties have expressed concerns with the bill and have publicly rejected it, but those positions have not been crystallized in any formal vote in the House. What Government officials have been echoing for months is that there is no longer time for a redistricting exercise before general elections.

However, Enriquez told Amandala that, with elections not being due until November 2025, and with a 3-month extension allowed, there is still time to conduct a redistricting exercise in order to be in compliance with the Constitution. He shared that since around 2008, he has been advocating for a redistricting exercise, writing multiple articles in this newspaper making that call. Ramlogan declares, “The continued failure and/or refusal of Parliament to consider and enact the said Bill which is based on the proposals made by the EBC is therefore unconstitutional and illegal. It has created a predicament whereby the Claimants will be forced or be asked to cast their vote in an unconstitutional and illegal general election.” In this regard, Enriquez says he refuses to participate in an illegal election, and has vowed not to vote if there is no redistricting exercise first.

According to Ramlogan, the “legislature cannot be permitted to force the EBC to knowingly conduct a general election that is illegal which violates the constitution.” Further, says Ramlogan, innocent members of the public would also have participated in an illegal and unconstitutional election. Ramlogan clarifies as well that the Government is in control of the agenda for parliament because of its majority, and should ensure the timely debate and enactment of the redistricting bill. He summarizes the Government’s actions as “nothing but a clear and sinister attempt by the government to steal a march on democracy and undermine the constitution which is the supreme law of Belize. It is a deliberate attempt to distort, thwart and frustrate the democratic will of the people of Belize by a process of artificial social engineering that seeks to preserve the existing electoral status quo because it favors the ruling party. This represents a clear and present danger to democracy.” He then notes that only an improper purpose could be fuelling the actions of government, and that is, to “maintain illegal boundaries to engineer an anticipated favourable outcome for the ruling party to the detriment of the constitution, the rule of law and the public interest.” As such, he accuses the government of bad faith and abuse of power, and says it will breach the claimants’ rights to protection of the law, freedom of expression, and their right to vote. The Trinidadian attorney deems the refusal of government to enact the redistricting bill as a “wholesale disenfranchisement of the public’s right to vote.”

Ramlogan also makes the point that, if an election is held and is declared illegal following a judicial review, then that would mean that public funds would have been wasted, and there would have to be fresh elections with consequent impacts on Belize’s reputation internationally “as a constitutional democracy with respect for the rule of law.”

Ramlogan notifies that if the Prime Minister announces the date of the next general elections at Friday’s House meeting and dissolves parliament, the claimants will seek an injunction. He further advises that if the Government does not give an undertaking within 14 days that a redistricting exercise will be done before the next general elections, then the constitutional claim will be filed.

Responding on behalf of the Attorney General, Courtenay Coye LLP confirmed that the Prime Minister “will not be announcing the date for the next general election at its next sitting on 7th February 2025 nor will he advise the Governor General to dissolve Parliament on said date.” Senior Counsel Eamon Courtenay also notified that Senior Counsel Godfrey Smith is representing the Elections and Boundaries Commission.

Speaking about the high-powered attorneys hired by the Government from the private bar to represent them in relation to the redistricting matter, Enriquez stated, “I find it absolutely shameless that they will now take the people’s money to pay for high-priced attorneys to fight against the people who placed them there to protect the Constitution…No Government official is above the law.” He also called on businesses and organizations to call the Government to task.

Roody Wade, a claimant in the Belize Peace Movement case, welcomes the Enriquez et al. action, and further calls on the usual international observers not to fulfil that function for Belize in an illegal election process.