General elections were held in

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

on 14 December 1984.Nohlen, D (2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I'', p104 The result was a victory for the opposition United Democratic Party, which won 21 of the 28 seats. Voter turnout was 75.0%.

Background

The elections were the first in Belize since it achieved full independence from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

in 1981. In its more than 30 years of existence, the ruling

People's United Party The People's United Party (PUP) is one of two major political parties in Belize. It is currently the governing party of Belize after success in the 2020 Belizean general election, winning a majority of 26 seats out of 31 in the Belizean House ...

had never lost an election at the national level, whilst the opposition had never won more than six seats (out of a possible eighteen in 1974). However, by 1984 the PUP were presiding over an economy in recession and that had just recently been bailed out by the IMF. The party was internally fractured and faced a United Democratic Party that had made significant gains since losing the last general election in 1979.

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Manuel Esquivel Sir Manuel Amadeo Esquivel (2 May 1940 – 10 February 2022) was a Belizean politician. As leader of the United Democratic Party, he served as Prime Minister from 1984 to 1989, and then again from 1993 to 1998. His party's victory in 1984 was ...

– who Prime Minister George Price defeated in his own

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger State (polity), state (a country, administrative region, ...

in 1979 – became UDP leader in December 1983.United Democratic Party
Countrystudies.us. (accessed 10 October 2014) The ongoing border dispute with

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

was also a campaign issue, with the UDP criticising Price's negotiations. The UDP advocated for

foreign direct investment A foreign direct investment (FDI) is an investment in the form of a controlling ownership in a business in one country by an entity based in another country. It is thus distinguished from a foreign portfolio investment by a notion of direct co ...

to help reduce the unemployment rate. Just a few months before the election, Price ordered a

redistricting Redistribution (re-districting in the United States and in the Philippines) is the process by which electoral districts are added, removed, or otherwise changed. Redistribution is a form of boundary delimitation that changes electoral dist ...

of electoral boundaries. This created 10 new constituencies for a total of 28, but the majority were upset because of claims that the PUP drew the boundaries with victory in mind. Esquivel was elected in the newly created

Caribbean Shores Caribbean Shores is an electoral constituency in the Belize District represented in the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belize since 2015 by Kareem Musa of the People's United Party. Profile The Caribbean Shores constituenc ...

House constituency, while Price himself was defeated in his Freetown constituency after over 30 years of continuous service in the House of Representatives and its predecessors.General Election 1984
, Belize Elections and Boundaries Commission. (accessed 9 October 2014) Esquivel succeeded Price as prime minister to become the first non-PUP leader in the nation's history. Price continued to lead the PUP from outside the National Assembly while

Florencio Marin Florencio Marin is a retired Belizean politician. A veteran member of the People's United Party, Marin served as Deputy Prime Minister under George Cadle Price as well as Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Biography Marin entered politics in 19 ...

became

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

.The Right Honourable George Cadle Price
AmbergrisCaye.com. (accessed 9 October 2014)

Results

References

{{Belizean elections

Legislative election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

General elections in Belize