The Belize Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) is the primary electoral body 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 ...

. It supervises all local and national

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...

. The commission also establishes the boundaries of Belize's electoral divisions.

Formation and duties

The EBC was formed in 1978 to oversee Belizean elections according to the Representation of the People Act. This Act became part of the Belize Constitution in 1981. The commission maintains a database of Belizean voters and periodically informs the nation on the state of the voter's list. It also occasionally makes proposals to revise boundaries in order to maintain near equality in voting divisions. There are currently 31 electoral divisions in Belize. The EBC has a chairman and four other persons on its board. The chairman and two members are appointed by the

governor-general Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

on the advice of the

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 ...

after consultation with the leader of the opposition; the remaining members are appointed similarly, with the concurrence of the leader of the opposition. Members of the EBC serve for five-year terms. The Chairman is paid $2000 monthly, and each other member is paid $500 monthly. The Elections and Boundaries Commission also acts as an international observer for other elections in the region, including in

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Delegation of duties

According to the Belize Constitution, the EBC delegates its responsibilities to the chief elections officer, who is not a member of the commission, and is officially in charge of voter registration, conduct of elections, and voter education.

Members of the EBC

2021 appointments

* Chairman: Oscar Sabido * Chairman: Estevan Perera (resigned) * Orlando Espat (prime ministerial appointee) * Conrad Lewis (prime ministerial appointee) * Phillipa Griffith Bailey (opposition appointee) * Alberto August (opposition appointee)

2016 appointments

* Chairman:

Doug Singh Douglas "Dough" Singh is a Belizean politician and a member of the United Democratic Party. He is the former Minister of Police and Public Security in Prime Minister Dean Barrow's cabinet from 2010 to 2012. In 2012, Singh became National Security ...

2013 appointments

* Phillipa Griffith Bailey (prime ministerial appointee) * Naima Barrow (prime ministerial appointee) * Derek Courtenay (opposition appointee) * Orlando Habe (opposition appointee)

2012 appointments

* Chairman: B.Q. Pitts Sr

2003 appointments

* Chairman: Karl H. Menzies * Samira Musa Pott (prime ministerial appointee) * Derek Courtenay (prime ministerial appointee) * Dean Lindo (opposition appointee) * Alberto August (opposition appointee)

References

1978 establishments in Belize Elections in Belize Politics of Belize

Boundary commissions {{Belize-stub