RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The center-left People’s United Party (PUP) won the parliamentary elections in Belize with a sweeping victory. Former opposition leader John Briceño has thus become the country’s new Prime Minister.
According to the counting results, PUP won 26 of 31 seats in the House of Representatives, while the conservative United Democratic Party (UDP) lost 14 seats and now holds only five. Voter turnout was over 80 percent.
UDP leader Dean Barrow declined to run again for office after 12 years for health reasons, and the party appointed Patrick Faber, the ex-Minister of Education, as his successor.
After the results were announced, the defeated Faber congratulated Premier Elect Briceño on Wednesday evening and called for joint efforts in the fight against the coronavirus.
One of the main topics of the election campaign was the state of the economy. Tourism, which is one of the most important sources of income in the Commonwealth country, has suffered a severe slump as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic. According to International Monetary Fund projections, the gross domestic product will decline by 16 percent this year.
“The Belizeans voted in impressive numbers for a new beginning,” said Briceño in his victory speech. “In 2020 our young nation is called upon to grow up, to face the challenges of our generation and to advance with our peaceful, constructive and progressive revolution,” said the 60-year-old. Orange Walk Town-based Briceño began his four-year term as the new Prime Minister on Thursday.
Belize is the least populous country in Central America, with a population of about 400,000, and the only country where English is the official language. In 1798, the British colonial power prevailed over Spain in what is now Belize, which became independent from Great Britain on September 21st, 1981.