House of Representatives (Belize)

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."

House of Representatives
Type
Type
Lower House
Leadership
Laura Tucker-Longsworth
since January 13, 2017
Prime Minister
Dean Barrow, UDP
since February 8, 2008
Leader of the Opposition
Johnny Briceño, PUP
since January 31, 2016
Structure
Seats31
Political groups
HM Government

HM Most Loyal Opposition

Elections
First-past-the-post
Last election
4 November 2015
Meeting place
National Assembly Building of Belize
Independence Hill
Belmopan
Belize
Website
National Assembly of Belize
Belize
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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.

Current members of the House of Representatives by district

The elected representatives and their constituencies according to the Elections and Boundaries Department are:[1]

Belize District
Orange Walk District
Cayo District
Corozal District
  • Corozal North: Hugo Amilcar Patt (UDP)
  • Corozal South West: Angel Campos (UDP)
  • Corozal Bay: Pablo Marin (UDP)
  • Corozal South East: Florencio Julian Marin (PUP)
Stann Creek District
Toledo District
  • Toledo West: Ruben Oscar Requena (PUP)
  • Toledo East: Mike Espat (PUP)

Elections

Next election

According to Section 84 of the Constitution of Belize, the National Assembly must be dissolved "five years from the date when the two Houses of the former National Assembly first met" unless dissolved sooner by the Governor-General of Belize upon the advice of the prime minister.[2] and the election held within three months of the dissolution.[2] The current parliament first met on Friday 13 November 2015,[3] so the next election must be held no later than 13 February 2021.

Past elections

The most recent general election to the House of Representatives, held on 4 November 2015,[4] 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.[5][6] While the People's United Party won 12 seats.[6]

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See also

References
  1. General Elections 2012, Elections and Boundaries Department, 7 March 2012.
  2. "Belize / Belice: Constitution 1981". Political Database of the Americas. 11 July 2011. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  3. "CEREMONIAL OPENING OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY FRIDAY, 13th NOVEMBER, 2015 THRONE SPEECH DELIVERED BY HIS EXCELLENCY, THE GOVERNOR GENERAL, SIR COLVILLE YOUNG" (PDF). Caribbean Elections. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  4. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-11-08. Retrieved 2015-11-08.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. Garcia, David Alire. "Belize PM Barrow wins record third consecutive term", Reuters, 5 November 2015. (accessed 5 November 2015)
  6. "Election Results". Breaking Belize News. 5 November 2015. Retrieved 14 August 2016.

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