Earl Trapp Raises Fresh Concerns Over Voter Irregularities in Cayo North

While Mayor Earl Trapp used this morning’s UDP press conference to confirm his intention to seek a fifth term in office, he also took the opportunity to raise concerns about what he describes as lingering irregularities within Polling Area Seventy-Three in the Cayo North Division.  Trapp says concerns surrounding questionable voter transfers and alleged phantom voters remain unresolved, particularly following issues that surfaced during both the last municipal and general elections. According to Trapp, the concerns were not only observed on election day itself, but were also highlighted during the post-mortem discussions that followed those elections.  The issue of alleged electoral irregularities in Cayo North has been a longstanding point of contention within the UDP. Back in late 2024, former area representative Dr. Omar Figueroa mounted several legal challenges against voter transfers into the division, alleging there was a coordinated system of electoral fraud involving dozens of questionable registrations tied to single households. Court proceedings at the time resulted in several names being removed from the voter’s list, although many others remained due to technical legal hurdles.  Speaking today, Trapp said the concerns remain fresh in the minds of party supporters and election workers in the west.

Earl Trapp, Mayor of Santa Elena and San Ignacio: “What concerns me is not the will of the people. What concerns me is the growing evidence that the democratic process in polling area 73 may have been manipulated. After reviewing the 2024 municipal elections and the 2025 general elections, I believe there is strong evidence of serious electoral irregularities within polling station or area 73. The largest polling area within the municipality and one that represents roughly half of San Ignacio and Santa Elena. This is not about political frustration. This is about whether Belizeans can continue to trust the integrity of elections. The numbers alone raise serious questions. In 2024 municipal elections I defeated the PUP candidate in all three polling areas that makes up the Twin Towns, 72, 73 and 76. One year later, during the 2025 general elections, polling area 73 recorded an extraordinary increase of over 1,056 new votes cast. 1056, just a year after. To put this in perspective, polling area 72 increased by 15%. And when I spoke to a political analyst and an election observer he said that 15% is the norm. Polling era 76 increased by 9% while polling era 73 increased by a little over 60-65%, which is a thousand additional votes in just one year. Even more concerning is where those votes went. UDP support in polling area 73 remained almost exactly the same. Both Omar Figueroa and myself received almost identical numbers. His tally decreased by only 12. While this number was enough to secure a decisive victory of approximately 348 for myself, the same number was not enough  one year later. The PUP gained virtually the entire increase, approximately 1,056 additional votes. In other words more than 99% of all new votes in polling area 73 went to one political party. That is absurd. That is not normal. That is not statistically believable. And it becomes even more concerning when viewed alongside the reports of suspicious registration, questionable transfers, alleged proxy abuse, and a myriad of other electoral abuses.”

Trapp stopped short of accusing any specific individuals of wrongdoing but maintained that greater scrutiny of the voter registration process is necessary ahead of future elections. His comments are expected to add to the ongoing debate over electoral integrity within the Cayo districts, an issue that has repeatedly surfaced in recent election cycles.