1. --Overview--
February 5, 2004
An official ceremony to launch a
new publication "A Framework for
Voter Education" was organized by
staff members of the Elections and
Boundaries Department on
Thursday February 5, 2004. The
venue was the Radisson Fort
George Hotel in Belize City.
Ms. Ernestine Carballo led the
audience with the singing of the
National Anthem and the occasion
was blessed by The Most Reverend
Osmond P. Martin, Bishop of the
Roman Catholic Church. Mrs.
Sharole Saldivar, Acting Assistant
Chief Elections Officer presented an
overview of the Department's Voter
Education and Community outreach
initiatives since 1999 and was followed by the Keynote Address by Hon. Francis Fonseca, Ministry of
Education.
Two prominent members of the community reviewed the book, Ms. Brenda Armstrong, Historian and
Principal of Wesley College, and Hon. Godwin Hulse, Senator. The author Mrs. Myrtle Palacio, Chief
Elections Officer presented remarks on the book.
The book is a 100% production of the Staff of Elections and Boundaries Department in its continuing
endeavour in Voter Education.

2. Overview of Voter Education/Community Outreach
Initiatives
Presented by Sharole Saldivar, Ag. Assistant Chief
Elections Officer
A pleasant good morning and welcome to the launching of
the booklet, A Framework For Voter Education; another
testimony of the Elections and Boundaries Department's
mission of commitment to the enhancement of democracy
through voter education and the maintenance of a
legitimate, impartial, valid electoral process, and its goal to
encourage public participation, forge partnerships and
provide efficient and effective service delivery.
The essence of true democracy is an informed, actively participating electorate. The law empowers
the elector to play a major role in the electoral process, unfortunately, this seldom occurs. As an
election authority, one of the functions of the Elections and Boundaries Department is to gather and
disseminate information on the electoral process… to heighten awareness…to educate…to provide
the tools and support necessary to attain an accurate, transparent electoral system…to forge
partnerships…share, link, network, reach out to like organizations and stakeholders…with the
objective of strengthening public confidence in the department and in the electoral system, and
increase voter participation.
The department launched its Voter Education Campaign in November 1999 with an official opening
ceremony in Belize City. District Offices countrywide celebrated a "Voters' Day", including an Open
House. Activities included displays; quiz contests, and demonstrations by staff. Also launched was a
first publication entitled, 'Selecting Our Leaders - Past and Present', researched and written by the
then newly appointed Chief Elections Officer, Mrs. Myrtle Palacio. This monograph focuses on the
process of selecting leaders from the days of colonial establishment, and includes statistical data on
Town Board elections' results from 1963 to 1997.
A website, belize-elections.org, came into fruition in November 1999, through collaboration with a
private sector organization, Netkom Internet Solutions. It serves as a tool for voter education and
outreach to the wider community and carries information about the Commission and Department; its
functions, goals, mission statement and activities. It is updated regularly with statistical information on
electoral registration. During elections, the website provides timely reports for media houses and the
general public. Visitors frequent the site every nine minutes and spend an average of ten minutes.
The website has attracted over 70,000 hits.
In 2001, as an initiative of a member of staff, an EBC library corner was launched at the Corozal
Library. Library corners have expanded to Benque Viejo del Carmen, Orange Walk, San Joaquin,
Dangriga, and Belize City at the Leo Bradley, Thurton and Port Loyola Libraries. These corners
feature the department's publications, and are updated regularly.
The department has also participated by offering information and registration services to the public…
at an annual BDF day in 2001… at an all day Youth fair held at the BTL Park in 2002, and in a rally
sponsored by students of the University of Belize to urge youths to participate in the pending
Referendum, by providing posters and brochures, and by training seven of their leaders.
To transmit information pertinent to stakeholders the department utilizes print medium. Several
publications have been produced. The department's newsletter, which was implemented in 2000 as
an interdepartmental outlet, is produced monthly and has expanded to include articles relevant to the
public. The newsletter is widely circulated and is hosted on the department's website.

3. Five brochures entitled All About Us, Voter Registration - All You Want To Know, The Election
Process, The Referendum Act and Boundary Redistricting have been produced by the department.
Three manuals entitled Manual for Election Officers, Guide to Election Officials, and Election Day
Guide for Political Agents, have been produced to sensitize Public Officers, Polling Agents and other
stakeholders about rules and regulations pertaining to elections, and their roles in the process.
Annual reports, reports on elections, and on participation in electoral missions are produced and
widely distributed.
The booklet being launched today, "A Framework for Voter Education" consists of a collection of
salient, topical areas for voter and civic education. Our vision is to have this all-inclusive resource
material utilized in our schools as a part of a civic education programme.
All publications produced by the department are hosted on the website, and are available for
reference at all our offices, and at the EBC library corners.
The department's voter education campaign has extended to respective target groups, which
includes visits to tertiary and secondary level institutions, non-governmental organizations, and other
community group. Over two hundred schools and organizations have been visited to lecture on the
Registration and Voting Processes and to apprise on the Role of the Department.
Training for Public Officers is continuous. In preparation for election over 1500 Public Officers have
been trained to conduct elections.
In 2003, the department participated in the Clerical Programmes, which are coordinated by the
Ministry of the Public Service, by presenting the topic, The Electoral Process, to fifty-seven Second
Class Clerks. The department also participated in a two - hour presentation on the role of the
Department and Commission, and Voter Registration, to police recruits at the Police Academy in the
City of Belmopan.
Four workshops have been conducted for representatives from the media, civil society, political
institutions, and church organizations, under the theme, National Dialogue for a Culture of
Democracy. Topics discussed were, The Role of Stakeholders, the Registration Process, the
Revision Process, and Boundary Delimitation.
In October 2003, a nationwide tour was conducted for students at the tertiary level and other
stakeholders on the topic Boundary Delimitation.
Since its inception in 1999, Voter Appreciation Day continues to be an annual event held to honour

4. voters. Countrywide activities include Open House at every office, participation in talk shows, quiz
contests, and dissemination of flyers, brochures and other publications.
The department continues to utilize the media as a communication tool for voter education. Talk
shows are held countrywide on a regular basis. Press releases are prepared and transmitted to
media houses to inform about events and other information considered relevant to stakeholders.
To provide more efficient service, an office was opened in the City of Belmopan in 2001, to offer
registration and voter education services to the Cayo South Constituency, which was previously
served from an office located in Benque Viejo del Carmen Town. Similar services for the Belize Rural
North, Central and South Divisions, are now offered from an office located on New Road and for the
Stann Creek West Electoral Division, services are now being offered at a sub-office in the village of
Independence. Registration service is provided for San Pedro Town and Caye Caulker Village on a
timely basis.
To ensure outreach, the department networks with individuals and public and private sector
organizations.
 Through a partnership with Vital Statistics Unit in 2001, a six-month AKA Amnesty Project
was launched. The primary objective was to give electors, who registered in 1997/98, with
AKA's or with mothers' maiden names, the opportunity to legally change their surnames to
the surname of choice via deed poll.
 For the March 2000 election, Central Statistical Office and several tertiary level institutions
nationwide assisted with data collection at all polling stations.
 The Vehicle Care Unit, the Ministry of Works, Women's Department, Rural Development
Department, Immigration and Nationality Department, Archives Department, Police
Department and the former Printing Department, have assisted the department in its many
endeavours.
 The National Library Service has assisted in providing space for our EBC library corners. The
library staff also facilitate by maintaining the library corners.
 From the private sector, individuals have facilitated in training of staff and presentations at
workshops. The company, Netkom Internet Solutions, has been instrumental in maintaining
the department's website.
 Individuals from the media have facilitated by presenting at workshops. Media houses have
facilitated by publishing press releases, advertisements, and articles.
The staff serves a unique clientele of past, present and future employers in an environment that is
highly sensitive. "We are in the election business, where failure is not an option". In a continued effort
to deliver quality, professional service, training is an integral part of the department's strategy. A
holistic programme aims at developing the entire person and not only the skills to perform specific
tasks. The department complements staff individual self-development with training in the rules and
regulations relating to the job, and with training in Customer Service and Customer Relations.
Reflective of Belize's culture, the staff is ethnically diverse, and serves the public in four different
languages.
The department's Voter Education and Community Outreach Initiatives have resulted in an increase
in the public's confidence in the department. Voter registration and turnout is constantly increasing.
These initiatives, symbolize our commitment to accomplish our mission…our COMMITMENT to
enhance and safeguard democracy for the future generations of Belizeans. We will continue to
honour our commitment…we will continue to beg… borrow… force our way if we have to. Our
success is contingent on the continued support of YOU the stakeholders.

5. Presentation by Hon. Francis Fonseca, Minister of
Education
Senator Godwin Hulse, Bishop OP Martin, Ambassador
Regla Diaz, Ambassador Charles Tsai, Dr. Joseph
Palacio, Chief Elections Officer Mrs. Myrtle Palacio,
Chairman Carl H. Menzies, Members of the Elections and
Boundaries Commission, Distinguished Guests, Staff of
the Elections and Boundaries Commission, friends.
It is indeed a pleasure and an honor to be here with you this morning as we launch the booklet
entitled, "A Framework for Voter Education".
The booklet's stated objective is "to provide a resource for organizations or individuals who wish to
educate Belizeans on the rights and responsibilities of electors, as well as those desirous of
developing curricula in Civics". Having read the booklet from cover to cover late last night, I can say
with confidence that this stated objective has not only been met; it has been surpassed.
The booklet takes its reader on a concise, yet engaging and stimulating journey through Belize's
Electoral System from its often misunderstood constitutionally created structures to its more familiar
public Voter Registration process. It is easy reading and its learned author was graciously
economical in her use of words.
While politicians and party activists will find the book most useful, I believe its greatest beneficiaries
will be our Nation's students and teachers. For them, I believe this booklet is a must read and the
Ministry of Education will work to ensure its accessibility to them.
I have also found the booklet to be timely, coming at a time when as a Nation and a people, we have
recognized the need to meaningfully develop and enhance our Civics Education Curriculum. With
close to 50% of our population having been born in an Independent Nation State of Belize, it is easy
for us to lose sight of how dramatically and effectively our democratic structures have evolved, and of
the tremendous vision and courage displayed by those who worked and sacrificed tirelessly to create
that Nation State we now so proudly call Belize.
Too many of our young people have opted out of the democratic and electoral process. For too
many, voting is simply a means of ensuring an opportunity for access to an Area Representative for
the next five (5) years. "If I no vote, the man no wa wan see me". This thinking is of course too often
nurtured and supported by politicians who themselves have lost faith with the broader and more
noble rights and responsibilities of the elector.
This booklet will be an important tool as we embrace the growing challenge of voter apathy and
misinformation. Belize has a proud and rich electoral history grounded in the fundamental principles
of respect, peace and integrity. This booklet captures that history and builds on it.
I congratulate Mrs. I. Myrtle Palacio for this important work which follows in the tradition of her other
high quality, well researched contributions in this area. Mrs. Myrtle, you are a strong, proud Belizean
woman. We are proud of you and thank you for your continuing commitment to Belize's social and
political development.

6. Presentation by Myrtle Palacio, Author
The Journey continues …….
There are two electoral management bodies in Belize-The
Elections and Boundaries Commission and the Elections
and Boundaries Department. Both work in tandem and are
entrusted by law with the vital functions and exclusive
powers to execute these functions to ensure free and fair
democratic elections in Belize. The key issue in election
organization then, is the ability of the Election Management Bodies to generate confidence in the
electoral process. Ladies and gentlemen, Fellow Belizeans, THAT IS THE BOTTOM LINE. We at
Elections and Boundaries Department are in the business of elections, and FAILURE is NOT an
option.
How can this best be achieved? Well welcome to the journey! Our journey at the
Elections and Boundaries Department.
After conducting a situational Analysis in 999, the Department set out to create positive
organizational changes and improvements in operational performance. Armed with a Mission, Goals
and Objectives, we chose a direction of 1. Transparency and 2. Voter Education-both go hand in
hand, because knowledge and participation is meaningful in any working democracy.
The Electoral List is the lifeblood of our democracy as it determines WHO will participate in the
election long before Polling Day. Therefore the Electoral List is a crucial feature in the organization of
free and fair elections, and as such, the Department has devised a strategy to include stakeholders
as partners to help us ensure that those who get on the list are duly qualified to do so. The law also
empowers individual electors to peruse the list and object to any person, with basis, who should not
get on the List or remain on the Electoral List. BUT do we know these laws?
The trends towards economic globalization are having an impact on our social and political arena.
The electoral processes cannot escape this global phenomenon. Democracy is one of the most used
terms in the international political jargon, and is highly promoted in the agenda of international bodies
as an ideal to be pursued-the WILL of the people must be heard through their voice at the Polls. BUT
the WILL of the people must be preceded and accompanied by the knowledge of our laws and in this
case the laws that govern the election and registration processes. Do we know these laws? What are
our rights and responsibilities under these laws?
We at the Department value you as partners-the Church, the political party/Activist, the private
sector, Mr. Jose Citizen, Civil society-in building and maintaining our democracy. In this light I invite
you to read and comprehend the contents of this book. There is no room for analysis unfortunately,
as it is a book on the facts of law. The style and size is deliberate, so as to attract our younger
Belizeans, a large percent of whom were born after Belize's independence. In particular I invite
educators from both formal and informal institutions to use it as a resource for civic education. The
book is not copyrighted, again this is deliberate, so that one can duplicate it if needs be.
Transparency + Voter Education --- Power to us as Belizean Electors

7. A Critique by Ms. Brenda Armstrong, Principal -
Wesley College
Presentation
 Conscious attempt to be pleasing to the eye
 Creative use of graphics, bullets and colour
 Good sequencing

i. Historical perspective presented before what exists
ii. Definitions set out before terminology use
Content
 Wealth of information
 Inclusive of every aspect of electoral process, both historical and contemporary info
 Provides view of responsibilities of persons involved in the process (including the objector)
 High value of the "What is" approach
Usability
 Level of language makes it suitable for wide range readers - teenagers to adults
 Valuable to the casual as well as the intense researcher
 Can be used by persons wishing to impart or gain knowledge
 Should become a part of personal as well as public libraries and definitely school libraries
Congratulations to the writer - research well done, presentation of data clear, and educational
value promising. An investment that should produce great dividends.