Re-Register- "Your Right to Vote Depends on it," - that's the slogan being used for the re-registration of electors exercise which starts on July 2nd.
It's a huge 8 million dollar undertaking - but how can the elections and boundaries office make sure the news list is clean? After all, the same political parties who got the list dirty and full of phantom voters are driving the re-registration. We asked the Chief Elections officer about it a month ago:...
Reporter
"For the Reregistration to be successful it is the political parties who will have drive it and it is the same political parties who have kept us with a dirty list for 10 years beyond the legal limit because it is in their interest to have a list that is full of all types of impressions because they capitalize on that to win elections."
Josephine Tamai - Chief Elections Officer
"Like I mentioned for us at elections at boundaries department we will do our best to ensure that only persons who qualify get on those lists. If we want a clean list as citizens, we all have to do our part because in the end, yes, as election and boundaries staff we will be doing all hat is necessary from our end to ensure that we have a clean list, but we also have to rely on all our stakeholders to be a part of the process because if people complain and don't object - if you know somebody doesn't live there then you have the chance that persons will get on that list so all of us. Rather than talking I think we just have to get up and object if we know the person doesn't reside there. Once the new registers have been published then persons have 14 days in which to view those registers and make objections. So even though for example a name gets on that list, every single individual has an opportunity to view that list and to make objections, if you know that person does not reside there. So again the onus lies on every single one of us to do our part to ensure that we have a clean list."
Re-registration in Remote Areas
We also had questions about access to registration for those in remote areas. If you live in a town or city, it's easy enough to re-register, but if you live in Crique Jute, Toledo it can get very complicated.
The Chief ElectIons Officer said they will make all efforts to reach those people:
Reporter
"How do you respond to the criticism that the process of reregistration is unfairly discriminatory against the poorest and most rural Belizeans, because those who live in urban centres, those with means of transportation, cheap and affordable means of transportation will inevitably be able to reregister quite easily, but you live in remote areas it's a long way to go, a costly way to go before you reach the reregistration centre."
Josephine Tamai - Chief Elections Officer
"Again, like I mentioned if persons are out there and they know that they want to get registered as long as that information comes to us we will facilitate. I know sometimes people complain and say it's costly to get your birth certificate to get your documentation. Again, in those exceptional circumstances the law provides for us to have a form for those persons to fill in and then we do the verification. So those people will not be disfranchised. We have identified 100 as of today and that does not include areas in some of the villages where we will be doing visits. We won't be there permanently for the entire 2 months depending on the size. We will be there for like a week. Some villages people only go in on weekends so again, villagers will be advised of the dates that we are coming into those villages to allow them the time to go in and get registered."
The Chief Elections Officer expects the new electoral roll will have about two hundred thousand voters at the end of the re-registration exercise. It currently has two hundred and four thousand voters.
Spoonaz Not Solved
No arrests have been made in the robbery of Spoonaz cafe in Belize City which was robbed on Monday night. Today, the police shared where they are with the investigation.
Wilfredo Ferrufino, Inspector- CIB
"Police responded to a robbery at Spoonaz Cafe. This is on North Front Street. Upon speaking with the owner of that business he reported that night upon closing his business he was accosted by a single male person in a security guard uniform and he was forced into the establishment. While he was in there he was tied up robbed of cash and his license 9mm gun."
Reporter
"Sir was the incident caught on security cameras and are you reviewing those?"
Wilfredo Ferrufino
"Like I said the investigation is ongoing. We are looking into all angles. Cameras and etc."
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