Head of Mission Ingraham extended on that observation with a very insightful conclusion. He said that Belizean voters displayed extraordinary confidence in the election machinery - and he also noted that the decisive "yes" vote was very unusual in the Caribbean:...
Rt. Hon. Hubert Ingraham, Head of Commonwealth Observer Team
"I have been the lead observer in 2 election observer missions for the Commonwealth and I chaired the group that help to revised the rules about what observer should do and what should not do. What impressed me more than anything else yesterday was the acceptance by Belizeans of the integrity and professionalism of their polling presiding officers and workers etc., and that they accepted and agreed that listen, we are satisfied that once we go in there and mark our X's etc., it will be counted and it will be accounted for etc., and it's a level I quite frankly that I've not experience anywhere before of acceptance by a population of its democracy on electoral process. I wish to personally commend you for that."
"Its most impressive that you were able to have 65% voter turnout in a referendum and let me also say this and I speak only for myself. I don't speak for this group on this point I am going to make now: all the referendums in the Caribbean, the ones in my country and elsewhere over the last 40-50 years and I have been defeated by the population and generally speaking not as high voter turnout as was experience by Belize and for that and much more I commend you also."
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