Prime Minister Dean Barrow put all speculation to rest today when he announced November fourth as the date for the general elections. Of his two terms in office, he has served a few months short of eight years. It is also the fourth election to be called this year. There have been two bye-elections, one in Cayo North and the other in Dangriga then there were the March municipal elections. So the P.M. is going to the electorate for the fourth time this year. On Sunday, there was a flurry of activity at the Freetown office of the U.D.P.’s Carla Barnett where standard bearers met. This morning, the P.M. advised the Governor General of the dissolution of the National Assembly just before placing a call to standard bearers to be mum and give him the opportunity to officially announce the date. By then, however, social media was abuzz with the election date. Nomination day is set for October sixteenth. The P.M. says he has cleaned up Belmopan in eight years.
Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
“I believe the time has come to ask you for a fresh mandate. The clean-up having been completed, the UDP must focus now exclusively on the positive, on forwarding opportunity and change. A New Belize must burst forth, where progress, prosperity and stability can reign untrammelled. This New Belize is to be one where learning and job opportunities vitalize the abundant skills of our young people; where families feel safe in their neighbourhoods and homes; where rural dwellers have ready access to classrooms, clinics and industry; where our entrepreneurs and employers pay fewer, fairer taxes and where the innovations of governance serve all our citizens and the national interest. To forge ahead, to strike out in different directions, to fertilize this new bloom of change and advance and inclusion, we must re-inscribe our compact with the people. Accordingly, I have today advised the Governor General to dissolve the National Assembly and to fix Wednesday November fourth, 2015 as the date for the next general elections, with Friday October 16 being Nomination Day. The Team of 31 candidates that our Party will submit to you is, in my view, the best ever. Conscious of the necessity and demand for clean, competent and compassionate leadership, I am especially proud that the democratic process in our Party has yielded such a superb roster of aspirants. I am therefore certain that a re-elected UDP would deliver transformative results, including the defeat of the remaining pockets of public and private sector corruption.”
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