By Harold A. Young, Guest Post #1, February 19, 2024.
(NOTE: This offering of TIME COME features its very first Guest Post. My fellow Belizean Dr. Harold A. Young is Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science & Public Management at Austin Peay State University, Tennessee. Click on his name for a bio).
The 1981 Constitution of Belize and all subsequent amendments comprise the supreme law of the land. The Constitution of Belize follows closely the template of most former British colonies. A pillar of our Westminster parliamentary system is bicameral Legislature (House Representatives and Senate enshrined in Part VI, Articles 56 through 67). This essay focuses on one major issue: the need for more effective representation the House of Representatives, and a brief introduction to possible alternative frameworks for voting.
For those outside the constraints of political party politics, thinking about system changes is also challenging. First, the status quo, even if criticized, is known and feels comfortable. Second, it is hard to conceptualize alternatives and even harder envisioning any alternative system in place and working. Without being overly prescriptive as to how the status quo should be changed, it is helpful to introduce ourselves to broad electoral frameworks that could address what drives us crazy about the current representative system.… Read the rest...
During the usual ham and turkey handouts by politicians in December 2023, a different kind of X-mas gift made the news. Five days before X-mas, the Government of Belize and a grouping called the ‘Church Communities’ signed a 10-point 
Few things rile Belize’s two main political parties more than being labeled PUDP – Belize’s version of Tweedledum and Tweedledee. It grates red and blue nerves raw not only because being perceived as different is the backbone of the partisan game, but also because the truth stings. The petty, personal and often vicious ways the People’s United Party (PUP) and the United Democratic Party (UDP) attack each other are mostly tactics to mask the truth that not much really separates them in ideology, policies and electoral practices in post-independence Belize. Both compete largely as center-right ‘handout’ machines. Both have encouraged voters to ‘tek di money but vote dem out’. Both get voted out when the rot of corrupt ‘feeding’ swings the pendulum to the other side. The list of commonalities is long. But is the issue of constitutional reform on it?
“Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never has and never will.” This timeless piece of political wisdom from Frederick Douglas has been critical to determining the degree of success or failure of constitutional reform processes around the globe. So will it be for the current People’s Constitution Commission in Belize. Without informed and sustained advocacy from a critical mass of Belizeans, the odds are slim for a new or reformed constitution that meaningfully returns more power to the people and improves the quality of Belize’s democracy. In this regard, it is imperative to explore the lessons and impact of Belize’s first post-independence constitutional reform exercise – the Political Reform Commission of 1999-2000. (Image shows ten of the fourteen PRC Commissioners in 1999, names given below).