2003 Belizean general election

General elections were held in Belize on 5 March 2003. Belizeans elected 29 members to the House of Representatives for a term of five years. The result was a victory for the ruling People's United Party (PUP), which won 22 of the 29 seats.

Background

The PUP were seeking a second consecutive term in office after recording significant development in the economy from 1998 to 2003. Their opponents, the UDP, sought to replace them in office because of charges of corruption and mismanagement of public funds. Previous to this election, the parties had alternated their time in office since independence.

As an aside, municipal elections had originally been called for this date, creating a situation of triple elections in one day, a first for the Caribbean region according to Myrtle Palacio of the EBD.

As a postscript, Cayo South winner Agripino Cawich Sr. died of illness in August 2003. UDP candidate John Saldivar, who had lost to Cawich in March, won the subsequent by-election over son Joaquin Cawich in October.

This general election was also the first in Belizean history in which former Prime Minister George Cadle Price was not a candidate. Price, who stood down from the Pickstock constituency, had contested every prior general election since 1954, winning each time except 1984.

After what Prime Minister Said Musa called a "drawn-out" campaign that he said affected the country's ability to function, Musa called a house meeting on January 24, 2003 and formally announced that he had asked Governor General Sir Colville Young to dissolve the National Assembly of Belize by February 4, decree nomination of candidates for elections on February 17, and call elections on March 5.

Elections were called early; they had not been constitutionally due until at least November 2003. The Opposition UDP, led by attorney Dean Barrow and eager to recover from the disastrous 1998 campaign, declared themselves ready to battle. Governor General Young officially issued the proclamation dissolving the House on February 4, as requested by Mr. Musa.

Campaign

The People's United Party had nominated candidates through much of 2001 and 2002. Among the more hotly contested races was Pickstock, where Attorney General and Senator Godfrey Smith defeated Bobby Usher of the PUP old guard. A number of other sitting members declared that they would not run again, including Jorge Espat in Freetown (relieved by Francis Fonseca) and Henry Canton in Stann Creek West (replaced by Rodwell Ferguson). The PUP prepared a visually oriented campaign, stressing their accomplishments in office as the governing party and citing weak links in the UDP armor.

The United Democratic Party's selection process was rife with controversy. In May 2002, Pickstock standard bearer and musician Kenny Morgan was removed (he would eventually be replaced by Diane Haylock). Attorney Wilfred Elrington contested Pickstock independently after running into party officials over Haylock's appointment; brother Hubert, who had already left the party, likewise contested independently in Lake Independence against the sitting Cordel Hyde. Another bone of contention was Albert, where the UDP selected Marilyn Williams over Sydney Fuller. Fuller ran independently but Williams was herself the subject of investigation over allegations that she was a U.S. citizen and therefore ineligible to participate in the elections. Representatives in Lake Independence and Belize Rural Central were also replaced.

This was the first election for the We the People Reform Movement, which put up candidates in Corozal, Orange Walk and Belize District. Independents appeared in all six districts. The election was tagged as featuring the highest number of independent candidates ever, including former UDP candidate Wilfred Elrington in Pickstock. Elrington finished second to winner Godfrey Smith but doubled up UDP choice Diane Haylock.

The 2003 general election can be considered one of the most glitzy and packaged. The PUP ran a mostly upbeat campaign, focusing on celebrating the works achieved in its five years in office. The campaign was highlighted by the release of a CD of political campaign songs written by prominent Belizeans, particularly "Welcome to the Party" by Supa G. "Party" saw three translations and numerous airings over the course of two months of campaigning, invariably accompanied by PUP officials smiling and making contact with their constituents.

The UDP chose substance over style in a realist campaign. Their commercials and statements attacked what they saw as latent corruption in the PUP's governing of the country. In February a broadside of scandals rocked the retiring administration, in sectors as varied as transport and education, and the UDP pushed every single one as an indication of the things the UDP would not tolerate if elected.

We The People and other independent candidates stressed their belief that the system needed to change and that overall life needed to be improved for all Belizeans. The independents were not as heavily represented on the media but saw their opportunities as they came.

Conduct

The elections were supervised by the Elections and Boundaries Department, headed by Chief Elections Officer Myrtle Palacio and her four person administrative staff. In preparation for the possibility of general elections and the certainty of municipal elections, the EBD had cleaned out their electoral rolls following the 1998 re-registration exercise, sought to boost voter confidence through the media, and trained fellow civil servants across the country to prepare for the rigorous test of conducting three separate elections in one day.

The EBD commanded 1,432 election workers, 567 municipal, 865 general. The workers were divided according to post: returning officer (in charge of the station and vote), election clerks and assistants, presiding officers (at each polling area), poll clerks and assistants, and counting clerks. Statutory Instruments Nos. 14 and 43 of 2003 respectively guaranteed voters the right to register up to February 10, 2003 in lieu of nomination day and allowed for more counting agents assigned to the general elections.

On election day itself, despite the usual early headaches, voting went smoothly. Palacio noted in her end of year report that no petitions for recounts were presented for any election. Nevertheless, The Guardian newspaper of March 16 saw an article written by then member of the Elections and Boundaries Commission and editor Herbert Panton, which criticized the electoral process. For more, see the Guardian article.

A number of media houses joined forces to cover wire-to-wire the events of March 5. Great Belize Television (Channel 5) announced a partnership with RSV Media Center, headlined by LOVE FM, on January 13, 2003. Their coverage used the tagline "Decision 2003."

Later on, Tropical Vision Limited Channel 7 teamed up with fledgling Krem Television and Radio. Their coverage was nicknamed "The Moment" and used "Lose Yourself" by Eminem as its theme song.

Election day began at 5:00 am for workers and 7:00 AM for voters. Voters participated from 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM; counting began at 8:00 PM. Palacio reported that Pickstock's result, a victory for Godfrey Smith, was the first official result to come in, at 10:00 PM. By 12:45 AM Thursday morning, the PUP had amassed the majority fifteen seats, and by 1:10 AM could start celebrating as the CEO stamped the particulars. While the UDP had regained 6% of votes over the 1998 results, the PUP still beat them 53-45.

Results

By constituency

Division	Electorate	Turnout	%	Candidate	Party		Votes	%
Albert	2,286	1,789	78.1	Mark Espat	Template:Full party name with color	1,482	82.8
				Marilyn Williams	Template:Full party name with color	253	14.1
				Sydney Fuller		54	3.0
				Rejected votes			13	0.7
Belize Rural Central	4,543	3,173	69.8	Ralph Fonseca	Template:Full party name with color	2,110	66.5
				Colin Gillett	Template:Full party name with color	1,063	33.5
				Rejected votes			0	0.0
Belize Rural North	3,341	2,707	81.0	Maxwell Samuels	Template:Full party name with color	1,447	53.5
				Felix Sutherland	Template:Full party name with color	1,251	46.2
				Rejected votes			9	0.3
Belize Rural South	3,712	2,993	80.6	Manuel Heredia	Template:Full party name with color	1,539	51.4
				Anna Patricia Arceo	Template:Full party name with color	1,430	47.8
				Rejected votes			24	0.8
Caribbean Shores	4,023	3,021	75.09	Jose Coye	Template:Full party name with color	1,592	52.7
				Oscar Ayuso	Template:Full party name with color	1,429	47.3
				Rejected votes			24	0.8
Cayo Central	6,022	4,846	80.5	Mario Castellanos	Template:Full party name with color	2,438	50.3
				Rene Montero	Template:Full party name with color	2,260	46.6
				Eduardo Juan		63	1.3
				Ivan Roberts		26	0.5
				Rejected votes			58	1.2
Cayo North	6,842	5,672	82.9	Ainslie Leslie	Template:Full party name with color	2,917	51.4
				Dean Williams	Template:Full party name with color	2,707	47.7
				Rejected votes			49	0.9
Cayo South	8,344	6,287	75.4	Agripino Cawich	Template:Full party name with color	3,111	49.5
				John Saldivar	Template:Full party name with color	3,087	49.1
				Rejected votes			80	1.3
Cayo West	4,656	4,018	86.3	Erwin Contreras	Template:Full party name with color	2,180	54.3
				Kendall Mendez	Template:Full party name with color	1,800	44.8
				Rejected votes			3	0.9
Collet	2,848	1892	66.4	Patrick Faber	Template:Full party name with color	948	50.1
				Remijio Montejo	Template:Full party name with color	889	47.0
				Paul Jones		55	2.9
				Rejected votes			0	0.0
Corozal Bay	5,274	4,058	76.9	Juan Vildo Marin	Template:Full party name with color	2,089	51.5
				Carlos Castillo	Template:Full party name with color	1,827	45.0
				Roy Rodriguez		86	2.1
				Rejected votes			56	1.4
Corozal North	5,276	3,491	66.2	Valdemar Castillo	Template:Full party name with color	1,713	49.1
				Nemencio Acosta	Template:Full party name with color	1,705	48.8
				Felipe Tzul		56	1.6
				Rejected votes			17	0.5
Corozal South East	4,752	4,194	88.3	Florencio Marin	Template:Full party name with color	2,155	51.4
				Servando Samos	Template:Full party name with color	1,930	46.0
				Hipolito Bautista		62	1.5
				Rejected votes			47	1.1
Corozal South West	3,893	3,473	89.2	Gabriel Martinez	Template:Full party name with color	1,835	52.8
				Gregorio Garcia	Template:Full party name with color	1,593	45.9
				Lucilo Teck		20	0.6
				Rejected votes			25	0.7
Dangriga	4,254	2,914	68.5	Sylvia Flores	Template:Full party name with color	1,527	52.4
				Russell Garcia	Template:Full party name with color	1299	44.6
				Ian Caliz		44	1.5
				Rejected votes			44	1.5
Fort George	2,067	1,546	74.8	Said Musa	Template:Full party name with color	1,173	76.6
				Carlos Walker	Template:Full party name with color	320	20.9
				Francis Gegg		38	2.5
				Rejected votes			15	1.0
Freetown	2,510	1,925	76.7	Francis Fonseca	Template:Full party name with color	1,154	60.0
				Douglas Singh	Template:Full party name with color	771	40.0
				Rejected votes			0	0.0
Lake Independence	6,176	4,447	72.0	Cordel Hyde	Template:Full party name with color	2,764	62.2
				Anthony Leslie	Template:Full party name with color	1,499	33.7
				Patrick Rogers		96	2.5
				Hubert Elrington		88	2.0
				Rejected votes			61	1.4
Mesopotamia	2,178	1,522	69.9	Michael Finnegan	Template:Full party name with color	1,024	55.8
				Phillip Brackett	Template:Full party name with color	953	44.2
				Rejected votes			8	0.5
Orange Walk Central	3,396	2,782	81.9	Johnny Briceno	Template:Full party name with color	1,713	61.6
				Miguel Urbina	Template:Full party name with color	1,050	37.7
				Rejected votes			19	0.7
Orange Walk East	5,486	4,590	83.7	Dave Burgos	Template:Full party name with color	2,400	52.3
				Elodio Aragon	Template:Full party name with color	2,144	46.7
				Rejected votes			46	1.0
Orange Walk North	5,026	4,324	86.0	Servulo Baeza	Template:Full party name with color	2,256	52.2
				Phillip De La Fuente	Template:Full party name with color	2,040	47.2
				Rejected votes			28	0.6
Orange Walk South	5,276	4,675	88.6	Ismael Cal	Template:Full party name with color	2,655	56.8
				Julian Padron	Template:Full party name with color	1,971	42.2
				Erwin Sanchez		37	0.8
				Rejected votes			12	0.2
Pickstock	1,987	1,611	81.09	Godfrey Smith	Template:Full party name with color	899	55.8
				Wilfred Elrington		439	27.3
				Diane Haylock	Template:Full party name with color	252	15.6
				Rejected votes			21	1.3
Port Loyola	5,798	4,014	69.2	Anthony Martinez	Template:Full party name with color	2,386	59.4
				Dolores Balderamos-García	Template:Full party name with color	1,565	38.9
				Rejected votes			18	0.4
Queen's Square	2,690	2,156	80.2	Dean Barrow	Template:Full party name with color	1,203	55.8
				Richard Bradley	Template:Full party name with color	953	44.2
				Rejected votes			17	0.8
Stann Creek West	5,718	4,445	77.7	Rodwell Ferguson	Template:Full party name with color	2,486	55.9
				Glenford Eiley	Template:Full party name with color	1,895	42.6
				Michael Flores		30	0.7
				Rejected votes			34	0.7
Toledo East	4,269	3,325	77.9	Michael Espat	Template:Full party name with color	1,757	52.8
				Eden Martinez	Template:Full party name with color	1,568	47.2
				Rejected votes			39	1.1
Toledo West	4,908	4,349	88.6	Marcial Mes	Template:Full party name with color	2,368	54.5
				Dennis Usher	Template:Full party name with color	1,940	44.6
				Leonardo Acal		21	0.5
				Rejected votes			20	0.4