Two months ago, we showed you what Josephine Tamai, the Chief Elections Officer, had to say about the Briceno Government's move to finally address redistricting of the electoral constituencies after over 15 years.

Tamai is the chair of a Redistricting Task force that is currently researching the best way to bring back all 31 electoral divisions to as nearly equal as possible. The Elections and Boundaries Commission has assured the general public they will complete this long-overdue exercise by next year.

While the Commission's Task force is directly tackling the complex issue, they are simultaneously defending against a lawsuit from the Belize PEACE Movement. This citizen group has long insisted that neither of the two mass parties has the political will to meaningfully address the disparity in the sizes of the electoral divisions.

From their point of view, PUDP politicians have used the imbalance in the democracy to win swing elections in their favor. So, they haven't discontinued their lawsuit to oblige the ruling party to get it done, even though the Briceno Administration has made multiple promises to see it through.

In the most recent court skirmish between the PEACE Movement and the Government, the Elections and Boundaries Commission's attorneys have attempted to convince Acting Chief Justice Michelle Arana to dismiss the PEACE Movement's claim. Court reports are that after the judge examined the arguments made by both sides, she refused to throw it out because of the critical nature of the issue raised. But, the judge has also expressed that since the 2020 General Elections happened with the imbalance of the electoral divisions, some of the court declarations that the PEACE Movement wanted would have no practical effect today.

As viewers will remember, back in late 2020, the PEACE Movement attempted to block the November General Elections from taking place because the mismatched sizes in the 31 divisions.

Because the elections have already taken place, and a change in government happened between the Barrow Administration and the Briceno Administration, the court thinks those declarations that the PEACE Movement wanted are now "moot and academic." Therefore, the court will not engage in what it refers to as "an exercise in futility."

So, where does that leave the lawsuit from the PEACE Movement? That's what the press tried to find out this morning from their Interim Chair, Paul Morgan. He granted an interview via Zoom, and he shared his concerns with the press:

Paul Morgan - Claimant/Interim Chair, Belize PEACE Movement
"The government applied to strike out the case a few months ago. It was heard in court in court and Chief Justice Michelle Arana issued her verdict yesterday. The verdict essentially rejected the notion that the case should be struck out. And so, she kept the case in place. So, for that purpose, the claimants in this case won. The Elections and Boundaries Commission lost. So, there will be room for a little rejoicing, however, the victory is not complete. There is a lot of work that needs to be done. We need to look at the judgment and make some decisions as to where we go with. There are some subtle matters, legal matters that we need legal advice on. What follows now, Miss Amaya, is that we must meet with the attorneys. That means that the claimants must meet with the attorneys and get to understand what this really means. As I said, from my perspective when the judge says she will not adjudicate on items 4 and 6, which is are asking for a declaration that the defendants are precluded from using schedule 1, unless and until they comply with Section 90, that elections should not be held in Belize. If those 2 are gone then, I believe the meat of our case is gone, and that any declarations therefrom would have no real power. So, we will have to get a full understanding of what that means."

As you heard in the interview, Morgan intends to consult with their team of attorneys, who have tentatively agreed to hold a press conference tomorrow.