Government & politics — Belize

• history: previous 1954, 1963 (preindependence); late
• st signed and entered into force 21 September 1981 amendments: proposed and adopted by two-thirds majority vote of the National Assembly House of Representatives except for amendments relating to rights and freedoms, changes to the Assembly, and to elections and judiciary matters, which require at least three-quarters majority vote of the House; both types of amendments require assent of the governor general; amended several times, last in 2017

• chief of state: King CHARLES III (since 8 September 2022); represented by Governor-General Froyla TZALAM (since 27 May 2021 previous Queen ELIZABE
• TH II (6 February 1952 - 8 September 2022) head of government: Prime Minister Juan Antonio BRICENO (since 12 November 2020); Deput
• y Prime Minister Cordel HYDE (since 16 November 2020) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister from
• among members of the National Assembly elections/appointments: the monarchy is hereditary; governor-general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the governor-general; prime minister recommends the deputy prime minister

Description

bicameral National Assembly consists of: Senate (14 seats, including the president); members appointed by the governor-general - 6 on the advice of the prime minister, 3 on the advice of the leader of the opposition, and 1 each on the advice of the Belize Council of Churches and Evangelical Association of Churches, the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Belize Better Business Bureau, non-governmental organizations in good standing, and the National Trade Union Congress and the Civil Society Steering Committee; Senate president elected from among the Senate members or from outside the Senate; members serve 5-year terms House of Representatives (32 seats; 31 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and the speaker, who may be designated from outside the government; members serve 5-year terms)

Elections

Senate - last appointed 11 November 2020 (next appointments in November 2025) House of Representatives - last held on 11 November 2020 (next to be held in November 2025)

Election Results

• Senate - all members appointed
• composition as of August 2023 -

Composition

• men 8, women 6, percent of women 43% House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - PUP 59.6%, UDP 38.8%, other 1.6%
• seats by party - PUP 26, UDP 5
• composition as of August 2023 - men 27, women 5, percent of women 15.6%;

Note

total percent of women in the National Assembly 24%

• highest court(s): Supreme Court of Judicature (consists of the Court of Appeal with the court president and 3 justices, and the Supreme Court with the chief justice and 10 justices); note - in 2010, Belize acceded to the Caribbean Court of Justice as the final court of appeal, replacing that of the Judicial Committee of t
• he Privy Council in London judge selection and term of office: Court of Appeal president and justices appointed by the governor-general upon advice of the prime minister after consultation with the National Assembly opposition leader; justices' tenures vary by terms of appointment; Supreme Court chief justice appointed by the governor-general upon the advice of the prime minister and the National Assembly opposition leader; other judges appointed by the governor-general upon the advice of the Judicial and Legal Services Section of the Public Services Commission and with the concurrence of the prime minister after consultation with the National Assembly opposition leader; judges can be appointed beyond age 65 but must retire by age 75; in 2013, the Supreme Court chief justice overturned a constitutional amendment that had restricted Court of Appea
• l judge appointments to as short as 1 year subordinate courts: Magistrates' Courts; Family Court

• Belize Progressive Party or BPP [Wil MAHEIA] (formed in 2015 from a merger of the People's National Party, elements of the Vision Inspired by the People, and other smaller political groups)
• People's United Party or PUP [Juan Antonio "Johnny" BRICENO]
• United Democratic Party or UDP [Dean Oliver Barrow and Patrick FABER]
• Vision Inspired by the People or VIP [Hubert ENRIQUEZ]

• yes residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years

ACP, AOSIS, C, Caricom, CD, CDB, CELAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, Petrocaribe, SICA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

chief of mission

Ambassador Michelle KWAN (since 5 December 2022) embassy: Floral Park Road, Belmopan, Cayo mailing address: 3050 Belmopan Place, Washington DC 20521-3050

telephone

(501) 822-4011

FAX

(501) 822-4012

Email address and website

• ACSBelize@state.gov
• https://bz.usembassy.gov/

chief of mission

Ambassador Lynn Raymond YOUNG (since 7 July 2021)

chancery

2535 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008-2826

telephone

[1] (202) 332-9636

FAX

[1] (202) 332-6888

Email address and website

• reception.usa@mfa.gov.bz
• https://www.belizeembassyusa.mfa.gov.bz/

consulate(s) general

Los Angeles, New York (consular services temporarily suspended beginning 18 December 2020) consulate(s): Miami