Welcome! Belize Elections & Boundaries Department.

Fifth Conference in the Series "National Dialogue for a Culture of Democracy"

Theme: Distributed Governance-Widening the Sphere of Accountability

On Wednesday, October 20, 2004, the Elections and Boundaries Department in its ongoing commitment to Voter Education Campaign sponsored the 5 th Conference in the Series "National Dialogue for a Culture of Democracy". The Department collaborated for the first time with the University of Belize (UB), and the venue was Radisson Fort George Hotel and Marina. The theme for the conference was "Distributed Governance-Widening the Sphere of Accountability" . The goal is to bring awareness pertaining to the participation of the electorate in the Registration Processes. The three main objectives were to bring awareness to:

The importance of the role of the elector as the watch dog in the Registration Process
The importance of inclusiveness to the Registration Process
The importance of a supportive social environment to the Registration Process

Three Presenters from the community delivered excellent papers and responded to comments and questions from the floor. The audience of over two hundred persons comprised of Tertiary Level Students, Lecturers, Senior Public Officers, Union Representatives, Researchers, Political Agents and Activists, as well as members of the Private Sector. The Topics and Presenters were as follows:

Appeals, Objections, Scrutinizing and Perusal: The Legal Perspective- Ms. Lois Young, Senior Counsel
Distributed Governance: The Responsibility of Participation -Mr. Dylan Vernon, Assistant Resident Representative UNDP
Appeals, Objections, Scrutinizing and Perusal: The Practice-Hon. Godwin Hulse, Senator, Member of the Business Community

The Guest Speaker, Dr. Corinth Morter Lewis, President of UB welcomed the collaboration of UB and the Elections and Boundaries Department and urged the participants, in particular, the students to take a proactive approach in the area of participation.

Mrs. Myrtle Palacio, Chief Elections Officer, in her welcome remarks invited all to participate in the Department's journey -the continued effort at Voter Education and Community Outreach. The Department, she said, is in the election business where failure is not an option . Mrs. Palacio challenged the students to empower themselves by knowing their rights and responsibilities under the Law and Practice pertaining to voter registration.

The Elections and Boundaries Department is one of two Election Management Organizations in Belize. Its areas of responsibility under the Law are Electoral Administration and the Adjustment of Electoral Records after Boundary Redistricting. A third function, that of Voter Education, is a campaign that was launched in November 1999. Voter Education has been vigorously pursued through various initiatives including, Training, Annual Open House countrywide, Public Presentations and several Publications.

We would like to hear from you.
Please send E-mail to: electbound@btl.net