Will general elections be held earlier than we all expect? For months there have been strong rumors that the government will call it in March. But an intriguing WhatsApp message went out today, stating that the House will be dissolved on January 11th to make way for a February 12th election.
That, coupled with yesterday's notice that one of the items on the supplementary budget was asking for over $300,000 for "general elections", is enough to create a compelling conclusion in this politics crazy town.
So does that mean we should be gearing up for the big dance of the red and blue? Well, speaking with us today, the PM didn't confirm that it would be called early, but while he reiterated that it will be next year, he also didn't say when.
As for the budget line item, he says it has been misinterpreted.
John Briceno, Prime Minister
"People are getting too excited over nothing. Basically, the $300,000, remember we had a by-election in July, and we did not present a supplementary budget to be able to pay for it so we had to use other resources so we're paying back the monies from what, I think we advance monies to Elections and Boundaries and now we're replacing the money that was used for the by-election."
"And I know the UDP wants us to get them out of their misery by calling the election so they can try and decide who is going to be the next leader, but we are going to call the elections when we believe it's the right time. I said it's going to be in 2025."
"There's still a lot of work, as I pointed on in my presentation thanking the Belizean people for that awesome mandate that they gave us and it's something that we take very seriously. We've done a lot, but there's a lot more to do. And when we're saying that we've reduced poverty by half, that does not mean that everybody is rich, we still have a long way to go, and that's the case that we're trying to do."
"And we're finding ways of fighting inflation in many different ways. Many of the items that people are buying don't pay taxes, that comes from abroad. And so the prices go up, the retailers have to raise their prices."
"So what do we do? We try to see income tax, education, NHI, house lots, mortgages. All this brings a little bit of money from all over and then continue to push to grow the economy, to create opportunities for Belizeans and encourage people to start their own businesses."
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