Posted: Saturday, August 2, 2025. 1:56 pm CST.
By Horace Palacio: While Belizeans have taken to social media in droves to criticize El Salvador’s recent removal of presidential term limits, many have overlooked a long-standing reality at home: Belize has never had term limits for its elected Area Representatives.
That’s right. In Belize, once you’re elected to the House of Representatives, you can continue running indefinitely, no maximum number of terms, no expiry date. Some Area Reps have held office for decades, yet we rarely hear national outcry about that. Why the double standard?
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
There’s an even more troubling issue brewing beneath the surface: the massive imbalance in the size of Belize’s electoral constituencies. And yes, it’s getting worse.
Let’s look at the numbers:
Belize has 31 constituencies and a total of 198,381 registered voters. That averages out to about 6,399 voters per constituency. But in reality, the distribution is anything but fair.
Stann Creek West, for example, has 10,446 voters, a whopping 63% above the national average. Meanwhile, Mesopotamia in Belize City has just 2,237 voters, a staggering 65% below average. Yet both constituencies elect just one Area Rep. That means a vote in Mesopotamia carries nearly five times the weight of a vote in Stann Creek West. In what world is that democratic?
Here are more examples of the inequality:
Belmopan: 10,154 voters
Belize Rural South: 10,053 voters
Albert: 2,756 voters
Queen’s Square: 2,607 voters
These figures reveal a hard truth: some politicians are representing three to five times more voters than others, yet they have the same vote and power in Parliament. That’s not just inconvenient, it’s unjust.
Smaller constituencies, particularly those concentrated in Belize City, have historically benefited from this skewed system. Campaigning there is cheaper, victory requires fewer votes, and political influence per voter is significantly higher. In contrast, larger rural constituencies require more time, resources, and community outreach to win, yet offer no additional representation in return.
So while we argue about political systems abroad, our own electoral map is broken, and it’s been ignored for far too long. If we’re truly concerned about democracy, fairness, and representation, then we must start by fixing what’s wrong in our own house.
Term limits? Let’s talk about them.
Constituency equality? Long overdue.
Political accountability? Shouldn’t just apply to other countries.
If Belizeans want real democratic reform, it starts here, not in El Salvador.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author, Horace Palacio, and do not necessarily reflect the views or editorial stance of Breaking Belize News.
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The post Belizeans slam El Salvador’s term limits but ignore our own broken system appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
Posted: Saturday, August 2, 2025. 1:56 pm CST. By Horace Palacio: While Belizeans have taken to social media in droves to criticize El Salvador’s recent removal
The post Belizeans slam El Salvador’s term limits but ignore our own broken system appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
