Tonight we should be on the eve of the biggest referendum in Belize's history, and possibly the most important vote of your lifetime. But instead, it's the April 10th. anticlimax: after one year of preparation for this single day - yesterday all that buildup was dashed when the Court of Appeal refused to hear the application to set aside a Supreme Court injunction against the referendum. That left the injunction standing and the referendum - standing by.
So, the situation tonight is that government is taking this as a postponement and wants to hold the injunction in 6 - 8 weeks. But, right now that is more of a wish than an expression of will - because there is no clear path to quickly discharge the injunction, while also getting the referendum back on track - in such a way that it cannot be blocked again by the opposition.
Yesterday at his 5:40 pm press conference on the stairs of the Laing building, the Prime Minister discussed some of the options to get the referendum back on track - while also throwing major shade on the man standing in the way - Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin:...
Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow- Prime Minister
"This government is determined and will absolutely find a way to have that injunction held within the next one to two months."
Jules Vasquez reporting:
But to get there they have to get past the Chief Justice's injunction.
Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow
"I am entirely convinced, I shall go to my grave secure in the knowledge that the chief justice got it horribly wrong."
But for now, it's the Prime Minister who has to figure out how to get it right, and that means going to the House of Representatives.
Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow
"We will go to the house as I say, so that is not an issue but the issue is after we go to the house and we fix what is this possible mischief described by the chief justice we would have to go back to him and ask that, in view of the new circumstances, he discharge the injunction. There is no certainty that he would."
And because of that uncertainty the prime minister is also going to the Caribbean Court of Justice
Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow
"And try to get the CCJ to lift the injunction, which would then mean that thereafter, once we've, in fact, completed the parliamentary fix, we would be good to go. We are looking at the possibility of getting before the CCJ prior to Friday's house meeting and getting a quick remedy from the CCJ."
"Of course it sounds simple enough but it is based on the assumption that the PUP won't throw up any more legal roadblocks and they surely will - which is why Government's strategy remains flexible and, to some extent, engenders some secrecy."
Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow
"There are a number of options open to get to the referendum and number four, I can't at this juncture say which of the options we will use or what combination of the options we will use. There is also another option that we are considering, which again involves going to parliament but perhaps with a slightly different objective. I don't think I should say more about that option at this particular juncture, though."
And that issue of not knowing what hurdles they will face is what makes the Prime Minister's determination more of a wish than an expression of executive will.
Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow
"We absolutely will fix this and give the people of Belize their right to determine whether or not we go to the ICJ. Of course I want a yes vote, of course my party wants a yes vote because we think that is what is in the national interest of Belize. But we do not fulminate against anybody who is a no, we do not consider those who are no's to be any less patriots than the rest of us are and at the end of the day, for God's sake, just let us have the vote and respect whatever the result of that vote is."
And while that was the plan yesterday….today, it has changed significantly. This evening, we confirmed from Attorney General Mike Peyreffite that Government no longer plans to go to the Caribbean Court of Justice to get the injunction lifted. The rest of the plan or the way ahead for Government is unclear at this time. We'll keep you posted.
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