Posted: Wednesday, October 2, 2024. 8:03 am CST.
By Jose Luis Cruz: Omar Figueroa, the UDP Cayo North standard bearer, has expressed serious concerns regarding irregularities in the voter registration process prior to the 2024 municipal elections and particularly during the recent transfer period that ended in August this year. In late September, Figueroa wrote to Governor General Dame Froyla Tzalam “on a matter of urgent national importance regarding a current threat to our fragile parliamentary democracy, a governance system that has defined our country since independence and one which is now threatened by a well-organized white collar criminal scheme of electoral fraud.”
The letter notes that the questionable registration activities at the Elections and Boundaries office in Cayo North began prior to the 2024 municipal elections. According to Figueroa “Significant numbers of questionable registrations began appearing on the voters list without clear indication as to the exact address thereby making it difficult for any independent verification of legitimacy”. And even more serious is the accusation that after close scrutiny “it was apparent that employees of the registration department were probably complicit in the scheme”.
Figueroa highlighted that 283 voters were registered in the July and August transfer period this year, with at least 100 of those registrations deemed suspicious. One particularly alarming case involved 28 people reportedly registered on a single street, with no house number, no specific address given or no concrete evidence that they reside there. Figueroa suggests that many of these registrations may be tied to nonexistent or incorrect addresses.
Figueroa claim that repeated efforts to address the issue with the Chief Elections Officer have gone unanswered. As a result, the UDP standard bearer has elevated the matter to Belize’s Governor-General and international bodies, including the Organization of American States (OAS), seeking intervention and assistance to help resolve these highly suspicious and irregular practices.
In a recent development, Figueroa noted that despite the lack of cooperation from the Chief Elections Officer, some progress was made during a hearing at the San Ignacio Magistrate’s Court on Monday. The magistrate has requested additional data from the Elections and Boundaries Department to help verify the legitimacy of the registrations. The case has been adjourned until Friday, allowing more time to gather the necessary information.
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