| Country: | Belize |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Previous Election: | 2008 Belizean general election |
| Previous Year: | 2008 |
| Next Election: | 2015 Belizean general election |
| Next Year: | 2015 |
| Seats For Election: | All 31 seats in the House of Representatives |
| Majority Seats: | 16 |
| Election Date: | 7 March 2012 |
| Turnout: | 73.18% |
| Image1: | Belizean Prime Minister, Dean Barrow in London, 27 June 2013 (cropped).jpg |
| Leader1: | Dean Barrow |
| Party1: | United Democratic Party (Belize) |
| Popular Vote1: | 64,976 |
| Percentage1: | 50.43% |
| Last Election1: | 25 seats |
| Seats1: | 17 |
| Seat Change1: | 8 |
| Leader2: | Francis Fonseca |
| Party2: | People's United Party |
| Popular Vote2: | 61,832 |
| Percentage2: | 47.99% |
| Last Election2: | 6 seats |
| Seats Needed2: | 10 |
| Seats2: | 14 |
| Seat Change2: | 8 |
| Prime Minister | |
| Posttitle: | Subsequent Prime Minister |
| Before Election: | Dean Barrow |
| Before Party: | United Democratic Party (Belize) |
| After Election: | Dean Barrow |
| After Party: | United Democratic Party (Belize) |
General elections were held in Belize on 7 March 2012[1] to elect all 31 members of the Belize House of Representatives as well as offices in the various local governments. The election was run by the Elections and Boundaries Commission's Elections and Boundaries Department. Dean Barrow and his United Democratic Party (UDP) were re-elected, but lost eight seats to the opposition People's United Party (PUP) to maintain a slim 17-14 majority in the Belize House. The upper house of the Belize National Assembly, the Senate, was appointed after the election by the UDP-led government in accordance with the Constitution of Belize.
Prime Minister Dean Barrow's United Democratic Party (UDP) was the incumbent in the election with his party holding 25 seats at dissolution. The opposition People's United Party (PUP), led by Francis Fonseca since late 2011, held the other seats in the Belize House. An unrepresented coalition of smaller parties ran in nine of the 31 constituencies under the banner of the Belize Unity Alliance.
The UDP's primary campaign promise was to renegotiate the terms of a US$550 million bond repayment, which Barrow said would be his first task if re-elected. The bond accounted for 40% of Belize's economic output and half of the national debt, making Belize the 13th most indebted state in the world in 2012. The interest on the debt was scheduled to cost US$46 million in the year, which was 12% of the country's revenues at the time affected its ability to raise future funds after credit rating agencies downgraded the sovereign credit status to "junk." Conversely, Fonseca said that he would abide by the obligation to pay off the debt with promises to grow the country's current US$1.25 billion economy.
Another campaign theme was the issue of oil drilling off the coast of the country within proximity of the Belize Barrier Reef after Belize started exporting oil in 2006. However, opinion polls showed opposition to further oil exploration. Barrow promised to hold a referendum on the issue, while Fonseca pledged a moratorium over continued exploration.
The Belize Unity Alliance actively campaigned in such locales as San Pedro, the biggest town on Ambergris Caye, off the Belize coast, supporting independent candidates and calling for votes for the party. However, the coalition failed to make significant inroads and was not competitive in any of the 31 Belize House constituencies under the country's first past the post electoral system.
On 29 February, Oceana, a member of the Belize Coalition to Save Our National Heritage, held an informal referendum that they called the "People's Referendum". The "referendum" consisted of 51 polling stations, including two mobile polling stations, staffed by volunteers over the issue of oil drilling. A previous attempt to hold the referendum alongside the election was rejected after 40% of the petitioned signatures were disqualified due to double signatories and mismatched names with the official voter rolls. The voter turnout was 28,000. The group's vice president, Audrey Matura-Shepherd, said that the referendum sought to use "the law to force the government to hear the people."
Opinion polls suggested a tight race with many undecided voters.
A poll conducted on 17 February 2012, the day of nominations for running in the election by former politician Derek Aikman, showed that the UDP held a majority of 16 seats and the PUP leading in nine seats, including Orange Walk Central, which they had won in the last poll; Fort George, Pickstock, Belize Rural South, Corozal Southeast, Corozal Bay, Cayo North, Cayo West, and Orange Walk North. The UDP led in Queen's Square, Port Loyola, Caribbean Shores, Mesopotamia, Collet, Lake Independence, Corozal North, Belmopan, Cayo Northeast, Cayo Central, and Orange Walk South. The other seats that could play the role of kingmaker included Albert, Freetown, Belize Rural North and Central, Dangriga and Stann Creek West, Toledo East and West, Corozal Southwest, Cayo South and Orange Walk East.
Another poll by Aikman on 2 March showed a large lead for the UDP, though many voters were willing to support PUP. The poll was of 8,847 voters, or 4.97%. The UDP's 15% lead in the nomination day poll fell to a 4% gap with a lead of 30% to 26% on 2 March. The BUA also recorded 1% support in the Belize Rural South and Belmopan. Undecided voters were at 43%.
An Organization of American States (OAS) monitoring group observed the poll. The team was led by the former US Ambassador to Honduras Frank Almaguer; the team also comprised observers from Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Barbados, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Guyana, Martinique, Mexico, the United States and Venezuela. The Organization of American States Electoral Observation Mission (OAS/EOM) was present in all six districts. Afterwards the election was praised by the OAS as an "exemplary practice for the region."[2]
The total number of eligible voters was 178,054, out of a population of just over 300,000. There were 74 total candidates and 320 polling stations. For the simultaneous local elections, 97,979 of the voters had the choice to choose from 170 candidates at 168 of the polling stations.
The UDP did well in Belize City, holding all of their constituencies there as well as picking up Lake Independence and Albert. However the PUP made significant gains in the rural constituencies, especially in the south where they swept the constituencies in the Stann Creek and Toledo Districts.[3]
| Electoral Divisions | Number of Registered Voters | Total Votes Cast | Percentage of Voter Turnout | Candidates | Political Party | Number of Votes | Percentage of Votes By Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caribbean Shores | 5117 | 3363 | 65.72% | Santino "Santi" Castillo | UDP | 2001 | 59.50% | |
| David Hoy | PUP | 1325 | 39.40% | |||||
| rejected | 37 | 1.10% | ||||||
| Freetown | 4230 | 2999 | 70.90% | Lee Mark Chang | UDP | 1408 | 46.95% | |
| Francis W. Fonseca | PUP | 1558 | 51.95% | |||||
| rejected | 33 | 1.10% | ||||||
| Pickstock | 3243 | 1994 | 61.49% | Wilfred "Sedi" Elrington | UDP | 1038 | 52.06% | |
| Francis Donald Smith | PUP | 956 | 47.94% | |||||
| rejected | 37 | 1.86% | ||||||
| Fort George | 3133 | 1941 | 61.95% | George Gough | UDP | 715 | 36.84% | |
| Said Musa | PUP | 1202 | 61.93% | |||||
| rejected | 24 | 1.24% | ||||||
| Lake Independence | 5145 | 3139 | 61% | Carlos A. Diaz | IND | 223 | 7.10% | |
| Martin Galvez | PUP | 1372 | 43.71% | |||||
| Mark Anthony King | UDP | 1544 | 49.19% | |||||
| rejected | 0.00% | |||||||
| Albert | 3180 | 1886 | 59.31% | David Craig | PUP | 807 | 42.79% | |
| Herman R. Longsworth | UDP | 1034 | 54.83% | |||||
| rejected | 45 | 2.39% | ||||||
| Collet | 4627 | 3046 | 65.83% | Patrick Jason Faber | UDP | 1949 | 63.99% | |
| Carolyn Trench-Sandiford | PUP | 1060 | 34.80% | |||||
| rejected | 37 | 1.21% | ||||||
| Mesopotamia | 3710 | 2256 | 60.81% | Michael Finnegan | UDP | 1841 | 81.60% | |
| Philip Palacio | PUP | 380 | 16.84% | |||||
| rejected | 35 | 1.55% | ||||||
| Queen's Square | 3960 | 2577 | 65.08% | Dean Oliver Barrow | UDP | 2039 | 79.12% | |
| Anthony Glenford Sylvestre, Jr. | PUP | 490 | 19.01% | |||||
| rejected | 48 | 1.86% | ||||||
| Port Loyola | 4469 | 2830 | 63.33% | Anthony "Boots" Martinez | UDP | 1789 | 63.22% | |
| Gilroy Usher, Sr. | PUP | 990 | 34.98% | |||||
| rejected | 51 | 1.80% | ||||||
| Belize Rural North | 5404 | 3770 | 69.76% | Edmond Castro | UDP | 2103 | 55.78% | |
| Arthur Saldivar | PUP | 1568 | 41.59% | |||||
| Rufus X | PNP | 49 | 1.30% | |||||
| rejected | 10 | 0.27% | ||||||
| Belize Rural South | 7100 | 4861 | 68.46% | Patty Arceo | PUP | 2026 | 41.68% | |
| William "Mike" Campbell | IND | 24 | 0.49% | |||||
| Jose Manuel "Junior" Heredia | UDP | 2479 | 51.00% | |||||
| "Bobby" Robert Lopez | VIP | 332 | 6.83% | |||||
| rejected | 126 | 2.59% | ||||||
| Belize Rural Central | 5920 | 3917 | 66.17% | Dolores Balderamos Garcia | PUP | 2005 | 51.19% | |
| Fred Hunter Sr. | PNP | 74 | 1.89% | |||||
| Michael "Hutchy" Hutchinson | UDP | 1801 | 45.98% | |||||
| rejected | 37 | 0.94% | ||||||
| Orange Walk North | 7061 | 5822 | 82.45% | Jorge Alberto "George" Briceno | PUP | 2357 | 40.48% | |
| Gaspar "Gapi" Vega | UDP | 3405 | 58.49% | |||||
| rejected | 60 | 1.03% | ||||||
| Orange Walk Central | 6694 | 5198 | 77.65% | Juan Antonio "Johnny" Briceño | PUP | 3042 | 58.52% | |
| Denny Grijalva | UDP | 2156 | 41.48% | |||||
| rejected | 0.00% | |||||||
| Orange Walk East | 6917 | 5257 | 76.00% | Orlando Alexander Burns | UDP | 2496 | 47.48% | |
| Dr. Marco Tulio Mendez | PUP | 2761 | 52.52% | |||||
| rejected | 42 | 0.80% | ||||||
| Orange Walk South | 6837 | 5621 | 82.21% | Jose Abelardo Mai | PUP | 2968 | 52.80% | |
| Rosendo "Chendo" Urbina | UDP | 2605 | 46.34% | |||||
| rejected | 48 | 0.85% | ||||||
| Cayo North | 6213 | 4641 | 74.70% | Marcel Bedran | IND | 191 | 4.12% | |
| Salvador Fernandez | UDP | 1985 | 42.77% | |||||
| Joseph Mahmud | PUP | 2382 | 51.33% | |||||
| rejected | 83 | 1.79% | ||||||
| Cayo South | 6905 | 4677 | 67.73% | Julius Espat | PUP | 2568 | 54.91% | |
| Ramon Francisco Witz | UDP | 2109 | 45.09% | |||||
| rejected | 0.00% | |||||||
| Cayo West | 6351 | 4898 | 77.12% | Erwin Rafael Contreras | UDP | 3079 | 62.86% | |
| Oscar Sabido | PUP | 1745 | 35.63% | |||||
| rejected | 74 | 1.51% | ||||||
| Cayo Central | 7180 | 5900 | 82.17% | Collet Emmanuel Montejo | PUP | 2478 | 42.00% | |
| Rene Montero | UDP | 2522 | 42.75% | |||||
| rejected | 72 | 1.22% | ||||||
| Cayo North East | 5548 | 4122 | 74.30% | Orlando "Landy" Habet | PUP | 2034 | 49.34% | |
| Elvin Penner | UDP | 2051 | 49.76% | |||||
| rejected | 37 | 0.90% | ||||||
| Belmopan | 7780 | 5603 | 72.02% | Amin Hegar | PUP | 2557 | 45.64% | |
| John B. Saldivar | UDP | 2775 | 49.53% | |||||
| Richard Smith | PNP | 230 | 4.10% | |||||
| rejected | 41 | 0.73% | ||||||
| Corozal North | 6233 | 5152 | 82.66% | Valdemar Isidro Castillo | PUP | 2464 | 47.83% | |
| Hugo Amilcar Patt | UDP | 2673 | 51.88% | |||||
| rejected | 15 | 0.29% | ||||||
| Corozal South West | 5745 | 4674 | 81.36% | Angel Roberto Campos | IND | 384 | 8.22% | |
| Gabriel Alberto Martinez | UDP | 2120 | 45.36% | |||||
| Ramiro Ramirez | PUP | 2153 | 46.06% | |||||
| rejected | 17 | 0.36% | ||||||
| Corozal Bay | 6237 | 4652 | 74.59% | Gregorio "Papas" Garcia | PUP | 2192 | 47.12% | |
| Pablo Marin | UDP | 2340 | 50.30% | |||||
| Carlos Javier Sawers | VIP | 50 | 1.07% | |||||
| rejected | 70 | 1.50% | ||||||
| Corozal South East | 6549 | 5609 | 85.65% | Florencio Julian Marin, Jr. | PUP | 2999 | 53.47% | |
| Raul Fabian Rosado | UDP | 2587 | 46.12% | |||||
| rejected | 23 | 0.41% | ||||||
| Dangriga | 5904 | 3827 | 64.82% | Mateo Tomas Polanco | PNP | 37 | 0.97% | |
| Ivan Michael Ramos | PUP | 2036 | 53.20% | |||||
| Arthur William "Turo" Roches | UDP | 1699 | 44.40% | |||||
| rejected | 56 | 1.46% | ||||||
| Stann Creek West | 7888 | 6123 | 77.62% | Rodwell Ferguson | PUP | 3272 | 53.44% | |
| Melvin Hulse | UDP | 2698 | 44.06% | |||||
| Charles Berisford Leslie Jr. | PNP | 127 | 2.07% | |||||
| rejected | 26 | 0.42% | ||||||
| Toledo West | 6134 | 5068 | 82.62% | Martin Ack | PNP | 29 | 0.57% | |
| Juan Coy | UDP | 1858 | 36.66% | |||||
| Oscar Requena | PUP | 3165 | 62.45% | |||||
| rejected | 16 | 0.32% | ||||||
| Toledo East | 6640 | 4835 | 72.82% | Michael Joseph Espat | PUP | 2417 | 49.99% | |
| William Wil Maheia | PNP | 282 | 5.83% | |||||
| Peter Eden Martinez | UDP | 2077 | 42.96% | |||||
| rejected | 59 | 1.22% |
PUP's Francis Fonseca had not conceded defeat the following day after the release of the official result. PUP claimed there were irregularities and filed a complaint against the result in three constituencies.