General elections were held in

Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...

on 27 August 1998.

Dieter Nohlen Dieter Nohlen (born 6 November 1939) is a German academic and political scientist. He currently holds the position of Emeritus Professor of Political Science in the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences of the University of Heidelberg. An ex ...

(2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I'', p104 The result was a victory for the

People's United Party The People's United Party (, PUP) is one of two major political parties in Belize. It is currently the governing party of Belize after success in the 2025 Belizean general election, winning a majority of 26 seats out of 31 in the Belizean Hou ...

, which won 26 of the 29 seats and Said Musa was elected as

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

for the first time.Unofficial election results of twenty-nine constituencies
Channel 5 Belize, August 28, 1998. (accessed 5 October 2014) Voter turnout was 90%, the highest since independence.

Background

The ruling United Democratic Party (UDP) was widely perceived as incompetent, incapable of governing and riddled with

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...

. Crime and unemployment rose while a number of government projects were universally panned. After winning nationwide municipal elections in 1994, they had lost two other municipal votes in 1996 and 1997. The PUP capitalized on the people's anger to present a manifesto of far-reaching proposals which they claimed would "Set Belize Free". Prime Minister

Manuel Esquivel Sir Manuel Amadeo Esquivel (2 May 1940 – 10 February 2022) was a Belizean politician. As leader of the United Democratic Party, he served as the second prime minister of Belize from 1984 to 1989, and then again from 1993 to 1998. His party' ...

advised Governor General Sir Colville Young to dissolve the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

on 13 July 1998. The House stood dissolved with effect from 15 July 1998. Election day was set for 27 August 1998. Nomination day was 11 August 1998; five political parties nominated 79 candidates, with three independents contesting. The radio station LOVE FM held the first prime ministerial debate in Belize on 23 July 1998; it was attended by PM Esquivel and PUP leader Musa. Another debate would not be held until the 2020 election. One controversy as the election date drew near was Attorney General Dean Barrow's rushed appointment of Manuel Sosa to the position of Chief Justice of the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

on 19 August to replace the ailing George Singh, just days before the election. Then-opposition leader Said Musa objected to this last minute appointment, and after his party took power was able to have it overturned on the grounds that he had not been properly consulted on the appointment as required by the constitution. The National Alliance for Belizean Rights, which had run in coalition with the UDP in the previous election, chose to run on its own despite its sole member in the House, Philip Goldson, standing down. The party failed to win any seats and was not a factor in the election.

Results

The PUP won 26 of a possible 29 seats, the most lopsided general election win since independence. Several high-ranking UDP members went down to defeat, most notably Esquivel himself in Caribbean Shores. Only Barrow in Queen's Square and Michael Finnegan in

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

retained their seats for the UDP, while Erwin Contreras narrowly defeated the PUP's Amin Hegar in Cayo West for the UDP's third seat.General Elections 1998
, Belize Elections and Boundaries Commission. (accessed 19 November 2014) Barrow became UDP leader shortly after the election.

References

{{Belizean elections

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

General elections in Belize