Belizean House of Representatives election 2017 Results Voting Live Dates Opinion Exit Poll

Belizean House of Representatives election Dates 2017

Belizean House of Representatives election Date: 31 December 2017

The House of Representatives of Belize is one of two chambers of the National Assembly, the other being the Senate. It was created under the 1981 Constitution. Members are commonly called "Area Representatives."

Area Representatives are elected by winning a majority of votes in their respective constituencies under the first-past-the-post system. The body is directly descended from the British Honduras Legislative Assembly created in 1954 with nine elected members. It has been expanded several times since: to 18 in 1961, 28 in 1984, 29 in 1993 and finally to 31 in 2008. The leader of the majority party in the Belize House typically becomes Prime Minister of Belize.

Belizean House of Representatives election Voting Live 2017

1. The National Assembly, which is the Legislature of Belize, consists of three bodies: the Governor-General, the Senate and the House of Representatives. Members of the House of Representatives are elected in a general election under the provisions of the Representation of the People Act while the Members of the Senate are appointed by the Governor-General.
2. Presently, there are thirty-one elected Members of the House of Representatives. The party with the majority of seats in the House of Representatives forms the Government, the Executive branch which has direct control of the civil and military apparatus of state and makes day-to-day decisions on the management of those resources.
3. One of the major parliamentary functions is making new laws or amending old laws for peace, order and good governance of Belize. The House of Representatives plays a part – obviously the largest and most important part – in the making of laws by the National Assembly. Once a Bill has been passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate it is sent to the Governor-General’s Office for his Assent.

   ---

   Electoral system of Belize

Belize has a two-party system, which means that there are two dominant political parties. The current two-party system, which has been in place since the pre-independence 1974 election, consists of the centre-left People's United Party (PUP) and the centre-right United Democratic Party (UDP).

Candidates for Belizean House of Representatives election

N/A

Belize Parties and leaders

United Democratic Party

People's United Party

Belize People's Front (BPF)

Belize Progressive Party (BPP)

Vision Inspired by the People (VIP)

Belize past House of Representatives election results

The most recent general election to the House of Representatives, held on 4 November 2015, was the 15th since 1954 when universal literate adult suffrage was introduced, and the 8th since independence from the United Kingdom in 1981. The United Democratic Party led by Dean Barrow increased its majority from 17 seats to 19 seats. While the People's United Party won 12 seats