General elections were held in Belize on 27 August 1998.[1] The result was a victory for the People's United Party, which won 26 of the 29 seats and Said Musa was elected as Prime Minister for the first time.[2] Voter turnout was 90%, the highest since independence.[1]
The ruling United Democratic Party (UDP) was widely perceived as incompetent, incapable of governing and riddled with corruption. Crime and unemployment rose while a number of government projects were universally panned. After winning nationwide municipal elections in 1994, they had lost two other municipal votes in 1996 and 1997. The PUP capitalized on the people's anger to present a manifesto of far-reaching proposals which they claimed would "Set Belize Free".
Election day was set for 27 August 1998.[3] Nomination day was 11 August 1998; five political parties nominated 79 candidates, with three independents contesting.
The radio station LOVE FM held the first Prime Ministerial debate in Belize on 23 July 1998; it was attended by PM Esquivel and PUP leader Musa. Another debate would not be held until the 2020 election. [4][5][6]
One controversy as the election date drew near was Attorney General Dean Barrow's rushed appointment of Manuel Sosa to the position of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court on 19 August to replace the ailing George Singh, just days before the election.[7][8] Then-opposition leader Said Musa objected to this last minute appointment, and after his party took power was able to have it overturned on the grounds that he had not been properly consulted on the appointment as required by the constitution.[9]
The National Alliance for Belizean Rights, which had run in coalition with the UDP in the previous election, chose to run on its own despite its sole member in the House, Philip Goldson, standing down. The party failed to win any seats and was not a factor in the election.
Results
The PUP won 26 of a possible 29 seats, the most lopsided general election win since independence. Several high-ranking UDP members went down to defeat, most notably Esquivel himself in Caribbean Shores. Only Barrow in Queen's Square and Michael Finnegan in Mesopotamia retained their seats for the UDP, while Erwin Contreras narrowly defeated the PUP's Amin Hegar in Cayo West for the UDP's third seat.[10] Barrow became UDP leader shortly after the election.
1998, belizean, general, election, general, elections, were, held, belize, august, 1998, result, victory, people, united, party, which, seats, said, musa, elected, prime, minister, first, time, voter, turnout, highest, since, independence, 1993, august, 1998, . General elections were held in Belize on 27 August 1998 1 The result was a victory for the People s United Party which won 26 of the 29 seats and Said Musa was elected as Prime Minister for the first time 2 Voter turnout was 90 the highest since independence 1 1998 Belizean general election 1993 27 August 1998 2003 All 29 seats in the House of RepresentativesTurnout90 13 First party Second party Leader Said Musa Manuel EsquivelParty PUP UDPLast election 13 seats 15 seatsSeats won 26 3Seat change 13 12Popular vote 50 330 33 237Percentage 59 67 39 41 Swing 8 4pp 9 3ppPopular vote by constituencyPrime Minister before electionManuel EsquivelUDP Subsequent Prime Minister Said MusaPUPBackground EditThe ruling United Democratic Party UDP was widely perceived as incompetent incapable of governing and riddled with corruption Crime and unemployment rose while a number of government projects were universally panned After winning nationwide municipal elections in 1994 they had lost two other municipal votes in 1996 and 1997 The PUP capitalized on the people s anger to present a manifesto of far reaching proposals which they claimed would Set Belize Free Prime Minister Manuel Esquivel advised Governor General Sir Colville Young to dissolve the House of Representatives on 13 July 1998 The House stood dissolved with effect from 15 July 1998 Election day was set for 27 August 1998 3 Nomination day was 11 August 1998 five political parties nominated 79 candidates with three independents contesting The radio station LOVE FM held the first Prime Ministerial debate in Belize on 23 July 1998 it was attended by PM Esquivel and PUP leader Musa Another debate would not be held until the 2020 election 4 5 6 One controversy as the election date drew near was Attorney General Dean Barrow s rushed appointment of Manuel Sosa to the position of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court on 19 August to replace the ailing George Singh just days before the election 7 8 Then opposition leader Said Musa objected to this last minute appointment and after his party took power was able to have it overturned on the grounds that he had not been properly consulted on the appointment as required by the constitution 9 The National Alliance for Belizean Rights which had run in coalition with the UDP in the previous election chose to run on its own despite its sole member in the House Philip Goldson standing down The party failed to win any seats and was not a factor in the election Results EditThe PUP won 26 of a possible 29 seats the most lopsided general election win since independence Several high ranking UDP members went down to defeat most notably Esquivel himself in Caribbean Shores Only Barrow in Queen s Square and Michael Finnegan in Mesopotamia retained their seats for the UDP while Erwin Contreras narrowly defeated the PUP s Amin Hegar in Cayo West for the UDP s third seat 10 Barrow became UDP leader shortly after the election PartyVotes Seats People s United Party50 33059 6726 13United Democratic Party33 23739 413 12People s Democratic Party2250 270NewNational Alliance for Belizean Rights1740 210 1National Reality Truth Creation Party70 0100Independents3720 4400Total84 345100 00290Valid votes84 34599 37Invalid blank votes5310 63Total votes84 876100 00Registered voters turnout94 17390 13Source NohlenReferences Edit a b Dieter Nohlen 2005 Elections in the Americas A data handbook Volume I p104 ISBN 978 0 19 928357 6 Unofficial election results of twenty nine constituencies Channel 5 Belize August 28 1998 accessed 5 October 2014 Election day set for August 27th News 5 Belize 13 July 1998 Retrieved 18 April 2012 Prime Ministerial Debate in 1998 Love FM facebook com 28 October 2020 Retrieved 30 October 2020 Party leaders debate on radio Great Belize Television 24 July 1998 Will There be a Prime Ministerial Debate Great Belize Television 30 September 2020 New Chief Justice to be appointed before election News 5 Belize 19 August 1998 Retrieved 19 April 2012 Sosa sworn in as Chief Justice News 5 Belize 26 August 1998 Retrieved 19 April 2012 Manuel Sosa sworn in as Court of Appeal Judge News 5 Belize 23 June 1999 Retrieved 19 April 2012 General Elections 1998 Archived 2014 10 16 at the Wayback Machine Belize Elections and Boundaries Commission accessed 19 November 2014 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1998 Belizean general election amp oldid 1165330531, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
