1 week ago
10
The first hearing into voter objections against six people from Bella Vista Village seeking to transfer to Punta Gorda Town was held this morning at the town’s magistrate’s court. Attorney Leeroy Banner appeared on behalf of the six applicants including former Senator Bevington Cal. Their proposed inclusion on the Punta Gorda voters’ list was challenged by Punta Gorda resident Leeroy Ned Supaul. Supaul’s objection in each case is that the applicant does not reside within Punta Gorda Town. Before the question of residency could be fully considered, Banner raised a preliminary objection concerning when the challenges were filed. He argued that the objections, which were submitted on July 27, were lodged after the statutory deadline established under the Representation of the People Act. Banner explained the legal argument he presented before the court this morning.
Leroy Banner, Attorney General: “What happened today is that the matter came up for the first hearing, but we made a preliminary objection. We are saying that when the objections were filed on the 27th of July, 2026 it was out of time. Because the Representation of People’s Act is clear that once you are objecting you must file those objections by the 25th of the month. We say that there is no discretion to extend time. So our objection is that this matter should not go forward because the objector Mr. Supal, when he lodged towards the objection, he was not within the prescribed time frame. So the magistrate had ordered for us to be written submissions which we must do by tomorrow’s end of business and we come back here on the third, which is next week’s Monday because these matters should be wrapped up by the 5th of August. So we return on the 5th. In the meantime also Mr. Elrington had made objection. He is also requesting that the Elections and Boundaries provide him and his objector with the investigation sheet which we say that under the law there is no obligation by Elections and Boundaries to provide him with any assistance. Mr Supal is objecting that these persons do not live at this address so we say that the onus is on him to prove his case so on Monday we have some legal arguments and depends on how it goes the matter, may or may not proceed to trial.”
Reporter: So you are representing the 6 persons?
Leroy Banner, Attorney General: “Yes, we say that they have always complied with the Representation of People’s Act and that they live where they say they live but that is for the magistrate to determine next week.”
Earlier this month, Chief Elections Officer Josephine Tamai explained that a person seeking to register in a particular electoral area must be a Belizean citizen, be at least eighteen years old and have lived at the stated address for at least two months. The Punta Gorda dispute is similar to a case that arose in Cayo North in 2024, when more than one hundred registrations and transfers were challenged over questions about where the applicants lived. Following those hearings, a magistrate ordered twenty-four names removed from the Cayo North voters’ list after finding that the required qualifications had not been met. That ruling later became the subject of an appeal./
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