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Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow- Prime Minister
"The fact that these three gentlemen have done, what appears to me, to be an extraordinary amount of work- and I must congratulate Anthony Sylvester, whom I gather is doing most of the heavy lifting- because the case, I didn't read it in any great detail but, as I saw it, it was well set out, it was well researched, ultimately to me, entirely unpersuadable. But, as an academic exercise, as a piece of well written legal scholarship, again, let me congratulate Mr. Sylvester and his cohorts. I am taking it so seriously that we are going to get a legal opinion. Unfortunately, from a professor of UWI, so not from a local. But we do this, in that way we show respect to what they have said to the position they are arguing and we also, I hope, reassure the Belizean public that we take nothing lightly. We take nothing for granted, we dismiss nobodies' point of view, nobodies' argument. We are going to try, therefore, by way of this opinion to respond fully to what it is that these gentlemen have said."

Reporter
"Would you entertain the daily of the referendum for these reasons?"

Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow
"No sir. For no reasons."

Reporter
"For none? Not even that Vital Stats has a backlog of documents that haven't been given to people so that they can register and also it has been said in some quarters that the education campaign hasn't reached the grassroots level to where they can understand fully the facts. So, that when the referendum day does come, they can vote their conscious."

Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow
"But I am making the point to you that I am not going to dismiss anybodies' arguments and contentions. You know there is a degree of politics that has come into this thing; which I regret. But I don't want to play that particular game. So, on a serious note, how long have we not known that this thing is to take place on April 10th? With respect to the Vital Statistics, there have been problems with that institution. I know that the Attorney General has made a complete change of personnel, both at the top and down, our friend Jules earlier spoke about patronage and clientelism and that sort of thing. People that he got out of the system had their advocates in cabinet who complained bitterly. But Michael Peyrefitte understands that you don't play games with Vital Stats, especially at a time like this. So, I am satisfied that certainly right now and until- when is the cut off, March 12th?- you can get anything out of Vital Stats that you need to entitle you to be registered. So, that is not an issue. And as to the grassroots campaign, as to the campaign not reaching grassroots people, I don't think we want to insult the intelligence of grassroots people. I think there has been more than enough material out there for them to understand. And I think they are understanding. So, I am in no doubt that we are poised and ready to go and nothing short of a natural disaster ought to detain the holding of that referendum"