Government of Elections
In Belize, elections are supervised by the Elections and Boundaries Commission under the control of a Chief Elections Officer, responsible for conducting fair elections. Stuart Leslie was appointed to the post in August 2005, replacing veteran Myrtle Palacio. The EBC also has a Board of Directors which includes party representatives. The EBC was established in 1978 to relieve the public service of the duties of holding elections by themselves; an Elections and Boundaries Department was added in 1988. The EBD maintains a list of voters at offices countrywide and new voters regularly come in to sign on to the voter registration list for elections. The list was last revamped in 1997. The vote is restricted to Belizeans 18 years and older; the 18-year old vote has been in place since 1978.
Stuart Leslie confirmed to local television station 7 News that he would not serve as Chief Elections Officer beyond December 2006, having accepted a post in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 7 News also reported that the usual reregistration exercise conducted every decade is about due (the last one having taken place nine years ago), but that the political parties are willing to delay it until after 2008 elections take place. 7 News article
In December 2006 career public officer Dorothy Bradley succeeded Leslie as Chief Elections Officer and immediately committed herself to streamlining the electoral process and restoring voter confidence. News 5 report Bradley has reportedly resigned as of September 2007, leaving the position vacant.
Read more about this topic: Elections In Belize
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