An appeal for prisoners to vote on election day

Certain inmates at the Belize Central Prison and those on remand may still be able to exercise their constitutional right to vote in the March 12 General Elections. That’s what the Justice for Humans Project, an organization that gives legal advice to inmates, is hoping for. Yesterday the organization wrote to Oscar Sabido Puga, Chairman of the Elections and Boundaries Commission, on behalf of those in prison. The organization says that under Section 7 B of the Representation of the People Act (ROPA), only those serving the death penalty and a prison sentence that exceeds 12 years are ineligible to vote. Attorney Michelle Trapp, Manager of the Justice for Humans Project, says that the organization reached out to Chief Elections Officer Josephine Tamai from last year to raise the issue. Trapp contends that the law is already in place for these people to vote and all that is required is enforcement.

Michelle Trapp, Manager, Justice for Humans Project: “When the Prime Minister signaled that, well, informed the nation that the general elections will be held March 12th, that was when we realized that a letter that we had sent from July 9th, 2024, which was never answered, that they’re not going to do anything. We haven’t received a response for them to say, okay, we received your letter and this is what we’re going to do to ensure that those persons who are eligible to vote are being able to, you know, given a position to do so by virtue of the necessary accommodations. The disqualification is if the person is serving a sentence of either imposed debt or if they’re serving imprisonment exceeded, which means more than 12 months. So by virtue of that, what that means then, if the person is serving a sentence less than 12 months or less than 12 months, nine months, seven months, six months, five months, go down the line, that person is eligible to be registered and by virtue of that registration, eligible to vote. And so our advocacy is to enforce that, to ensure that those persons, especially those persons on remand which according to our constitution they are presumed to be innocent until they plead or they have been found guilty. And so we’re trying to enforce what is already there.”

We raised the issue with Attorney General Anthony Sylvestre today, but he says, he hasn’t seen any official correspondence from the organization. He said that, to his knowledge, this is the first time such an issue has been raised and that several considerations would need to be made. He added that if Elections and Boundaries were to reach out to his office, they would be advised accordingly.

Anthony Sylvestre, Attorney General: “I checked with the Chief Elections Officer and I checked at my office but we haven’t received any specific correspondence as yet. I don’t know if this is some previous correspondence that’s been sent but I read the… not the document, the social media post. And the way the impression it gave is that some letter was sent yesterday, or recently, but as far as our office is concerned, we haven’t received any such document. They would seek, they would seek, they would clearly have to review it. They would send it to our office and we would review, and they would seek our advice on the matter.”

Reporter: This is the first time that something like this is being raised though? 

Anthony Sylvestre, Attorney General: “Yes, to my knowledge, to my knowledge, but. What I should point out though is that before someone could even entertain the prospects of voting, they have to be on the voters list. So all of those are things which clearly would have to be looked at. So as I said, we didn’t receive anything yesterday. But certainly once it’s received, we certainly would advise Elections and Boundaries properly as it relates to how to treat and treat.”

Trapp says that there are currently challenges in Caribbean territories for inmates to vote, and instances in jurisdictions as close as Mexico where prisoners have voted.