According to leader of the opposition the public consultation on the 9th amendment had turned into a travesty. And while we would not use that word, we do know they have become highly polarized politic events -where the spirit of true consultation has been lost to pure political combustion.
But now the Friends of Belize or FOB as we call them - is proposing an alternative method of giving your input on the 9th amendment. The Ashcroft-Allied group has launched a petition to collect the signatures of 10% of the registered voters in Belize in order to trigger a referendum on the Ninth Amendment Bill.
In a press release sent out today by the organization, is states, and we quote " that the Ninth Amendment Bill, if enacted, threatens Belize's reputation as a reliable democratic partner in the region."
And so the FOB calls on all registered voters to sign the petition for a referendum. FOB volunteers will be going house to house collecting signatures. The group calls on other organizations who believe that the Ninth Amendment should be put to a referendum to encourage their members to support the signature drive.
Of course, this is where it gets a little tricky - while the 9th Amendment has its own natural enemies, many of those would not want to be linked with the Ashcroft Alliance and by extension, the FOB.
According to our information, The PUP was originally going to push for a referendum petition, but at a national executive meeting last Thursday a resolution to do so could not be carried. So, whether by strange coincidence or design, the FOB has been activated.
It has its work cut out for it; 10% of voters means upwards of fifteen thousand signatures, and government seems intent to pass the 9th, Amendment into law as soon as the 90 days expire sin the latter part of October.
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