Last night we told you about the VIP's bold challenge to the election status quo. The independent party called Vision Inspired by The People isn't contesting the election, but is proposing to play spoiler. The party says it will challenge and hopes to nullify the result of the general election in court because there is no proportionality in the breakdown of Belize's 31 constituencies. The constitution requires that they be proportional, or more or less equal - but the disparities are huge: there are, for example just over three thousand registered voters in Fort George and over nine thousand in Belmopan. The independent party is dead serious about the challenge - but mass party leaders Francis Fonseca and Dean Barrow seemed completely unimpressed when we spoke to them today:..
Francis Fonseca, PUP Party Leader
"I don't think the legal challenge will go anywhere in court. But I think it's a legitimate issue. I think it's certainly something we are absolutely committed to looking at very quickly. We believe as I think you know, that there should have been a re-registration exercise taking place already before this election and certainly we are committed as a party upon forming the government to immediately begin that process of looking, reviewing the electoral boundaries, reviewing the divisions. There is a need for greater equity in the distribution of divisions and votes and hopefully we could even reduce the number of electoral divisions. But in an equitable way."
Dean Barrow, UDP Party Leader
"Obviously that's not going to go anywhere. The less said about it, it's better. They are entitled to file anything they pleased, but any lawyer with any sense will know that, that that going no place."
Jules Vasquez
"However, on the face of it there is a proportionality disparity, or a disproportionality in the breakdown of divisions, which is against the...."
Dean Barrow, UDP Party Leader
"I don't want play lawyer this afternoon. But I am telling you that's not going to go any place."
The VIP and the Southern Belize Coalition for Equal Political Representation and Development say that as soon as the election results are in, they will press the court to hear their case. If they win, they contend that the results could be nullified.
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