CAMPAIGN FINANCING CONTROLS AND SYSTEMS IN BELIZE A SUBJECT OF INTENSIFED DEBATE.

*** PUP leader, Johnny Briceno resigns.
*** Mark Espat rejects PUP leadership, due to debts of the party.


PUP OPPOSITION PARTY IN BELIZE GOES THROUGH TURBALENT TIMES

Johnny Briceno has resigned as OPPOSITION party leader of the PUP. His replacement MARK ESPAT has also declined to take the position. The political party have $5 million in debts and Mark Espat PUP politician wants $8 million more to run the next two election campaigns for municipal elections coming up and also for NATIONAL ELECTIONS. Without which he declines to participate, other than as an AREA REPRESENTATIVE in his SAFE CONSTITUENCY.
In the meantime, Johnny Briceno hinted in a passionate speech that the previous PUP administration, leadership cabal, when in office had plundered and looted the PUP coffers and assets, sending the money to offshore SECRET personal bank accounts, leaving not only the country bankrupt, but also the PUP political party. ( Estimates range as high as $600 million USA. ) Much speculation and allegations being made in all the media, regarding the turn of events. As Johnny Briceno should know about those things, being a long term PUP insider. His public comments confirm the worst fears and suspicions of the voters of Belize.
In the meantime, MARK ESPAT is calling for CAMPAIGN REFORM LAWS. Which have been discussed on the Belize Culture debating listserve many times and just recently. It is envisaged that political campaigning should be ONLY done at the constituent level by those running for office and like Miami Dade County in Florida, that aspirants for political office be controlled strictly as to campaign financing laws and expenses.

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Previous article on the BLOG here.

Monday, October 10, 2011
NEW BELIZE CAMPAIGN ELECTIONEERING LAWS !
Johnny Briceno QUITS and resigns from LEADER OF THE PUP IN BELIZE!
His reasons were for his health. Both his mental health and financial health one presumes? He was using up too much of his personal cash reserves. ( A week later ( Oct. 12 ) it was being reported on the rumor mill, that he is suffering some kind of twitch, or paralysis on one side of his face and went to Mexico for a diagnosis. )
The PUP got themselves into a passel of financial worry through their own foolishness and also because “we have no laws in Belize covering Election campaign financing”.
I remember the time in Miami Dade County I myself, ran for City Council. I budgeted $400 and didn´t even spend it. I was literally educated by the COUNTY GOVERNMENT that they controlled ELECTIONS in the many cities of DADE COUNTY. I think there are about 24 cities with a total population of 4 million or so.
What I learned from that experience, is how little, or zero laws we have in Belize in comparison, for election campaigning. All candidates had to OPEN a bank account for campaign funds, in a BANK that the overall Supervising Authority in County Government dictated. You put your campaign funds in that BANK ACCOUNT. You had to make statements of net worth, income, etc. You had to keep strict bookkeeping records of money spent, how spent, and any money received as donations. You had to list the donors. If you spent money for vehicles, you had to list it, if you spent money for signs, you had to record it, if you paid temporary staff to go door to door, you had to record it. If you put posters up on telephone poles ( illegal ) you had to record it. You were expected to go DOOR TO DOOR to meet the voters who would vote for you. That is the way the elections were run, not like in Belize.
In Belize that are only 4000 voters per voting constituency, unless the Belize City CREOLE crowd cheat again, this coming NATIONAL CAMPAIGN in Belize? There were strict penalties, fines, and even jail sentences if the DADE County Government Election people took you to court for violations of the ELECTION REGULATIONS for campaigning. You had to submit your accounts to the CAMPAIGN AUTHORITY. Woe be too you, if you spent more money on something and an opposing candidate complained to the Authority. You would find yourself with the police at your door and going to court.
In Belize, DEAN BARROW is our Prime Minister. Yet Dean Barrow ONLY is voted into office as an area elected representative, by his constituency of 4000 voters in Belize. I do not get to vote him as Prime Minister and most everybody else in Belize are so denied that right. Because his mafia gang of opportunists and criminals anticipating wealth to be gained from our SPOILS SYSTEM, swear allegiance to him as MAFIA CHIEFTAN of their gang, vying for power to control the treasury of the country and all government institutions for their own benefit. Our PRIME MINISTER DEAN BARROW gets by default, as GANG CHIEFTAN to be PRIME MINISTER. He does not get elected as PRIME MINISTER by the nation as a whole, by majority vote. Only 4000 voters get to pick our PRIME MINISTER IN BELIZE. If you don´t think that is wrong, you are weird in my opinion. The QUEENS REPRESENTATIVE then appoints the winning mafia gang CHIEF, the Don of Don´s, of opportunists and criminals to be PRIME MINISTER. We the people, do not get to do that. It all depends on the number of seats among the ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES, which gang gets to control the country. Their gang chief becomes PRIME MINISTER automatically and usually controls the treasury and debts and revenues of the nation. Dean Barrow got to be Prime Minister by default. We the voters, the majority of which, DID NOT VOTE FOR HIM. Think about that for a bit. Dean Barrow does not represent YOU and ME out WEST here. We did not get to vote for him in a popular national election.
Adopting DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA regulations for campaign elections, Johnny Briceno would not have to worry about doing anything else, but financing his door to door campaign meeting the 4000 voters, about 500 houses of his constituency. Under the PUP system we inherited, he has to raise money to hire RENT A CROWDS, to cheer public meetings for all those running on his GANG ticket. He has to pay for chartered buses, bands and all that stuff. When if you ran the election like DADE COUNTY does, each man or woman on his or her own, has to finance and visit, the 500 houses in his electoral division to convince them to vote for him. Now if you want to pay for TV ads, or newspaper ads, which is not at all necessary, then your personal outlay of money goes up dramatically. The SPOILS SYSTEM means you plan to embezzle, take bribes and other nefarious things to pay for an expensive campaign in your electoral division. You can´t beat talking to people and shaking their hands. For 500 houses, that is not that much work in an electoral division, nor is it overly expensive. The way elections should be run in Belize.
As I say, I did not spend my $400 either, in my campaign run under campaign laws and regulations by a supervising election authority. We could make laws in Belize about campaigning and campaign financing. WHY NOT? Isn´t that building a democracy?
Posted by A Professional BEACH BUM retires! at 9:20 AM