The People's National Party of

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 wa ...

was a political movement headquartered in Punta Gorda,

Toledo District Toledo District is the southernmost district in Belize, and Punta Gorda is the District capital. It is the second most developed region in the country (according to the Human Development Index (HDI)). The district has a diverse topography whic ...

, Belize. Operating primarily in southern Belize, the party fielded candidates in the

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

and 2012 general elections. It held its first meeting on Monday, 19 February 2007 in San Antonio Village, Toledo District. In September 2015 the party merged with elements of

Vision Inspired by the People Vision Inspired by the People (VIP) is a political party established in December 2005 in the Cayo District of Belize. It first contested municipal elections in the capital city of Belmopan on 1 March 2006, receiving 20 percent of votes cast but ...

and other opposition political groups to form the Belize Progressive Party."A New, Consolidated Third Party Emerges"

Great Belize Television Great Belize Television, or as it is locally known, Channel 5, is a Belize City-based local television station established in December 1991. Channel 5 airs mostly American and Caribbean programs, as well as a variety of locally produced programs. ...

, 1 October 2015. (accessed 2 October 2015)

Background

The party leader was Wil Maheia, who is a consultant in farming, tourism and the environment. Maheia stood in the

Toledo East Toledo East is an electoral constituency in the Toledo District represented in the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belize since 2012 by Michael Espat of the People's United Party. Espat also served several non-consecutive te ...

constituency in the 2008 and 2012 elections. The PNP ran seven candidates in 2012, but failed to crack six percent of the vote in any race.GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS 2012
,

Belize Elections and Boundaries Commission The Belize Elections and Boundaries Commission is the primary electoral body in Belize. It supervises all local and national elections. The commission also establishes the boundaries of Belize's electoral divisions. Formation and duties The EBC w ...

. (accessed 19 November 2014) Maheia also led PNP slates in municipal elections in Punta Gorda, most recently in March 2015. MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS OFFICIAL RESULTS 4th MARCH 2015
,

. (accessed 16 March 2015) Maheia became the deputy leader of the BPP upon its founding.

Ideology

The PNP's platform was anti-corruption and favoured campaign finance reform as well as increased local control in Belizean government. The party strongly opposed making any territorial concessions with respect to the ongoing

Belizean–Guatemalan territorial dispute The Belizean–Guatemalan territorial dispute is an unresolved territorial dispute between the states of Belize (FKA British Honduras, British Settlement in the Bay of Honduras) and Guatemala, neighbours in Central America. During the late 160 ...

, inclusive of accepting any potential rulings from the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordan ...

on the matter.National Policy Goals: Governance
People's National Party. (accessed 15 April 2015) Maheia in particular is a strident opponent of Guatemalan territorial claims in Belize."Another border line clearing by Wil Maheia and his Territorial Volunteers"

, 15 March 2013. (accessed 19 April 2015)

Alliances

The PNP joined a coalition of third parties contesting the 2008 general elections, known as the

National Belizean Alliance The National Belizean Alliance was a group of third parties contesting the 2008 general elections in Belize. Formation The NBA was formed in October 2007 in Belize City between the We the People Reform Movement (WTP), People's National Party (PN ...

(NBA). The NBA elected Maheia as leader, however the alliance became defunct after the election. In the years prior to the merger, the PNP maintained an informal alliance with the

Belmopan Belmopan () is the capital city of Belize. Its population in 2010 was 16,451. In addition to being the smallest capital city in the continental Americas by population, Belmopan is the third-largest settlement in Belize, behind Belize City and S ...

-based Vision Inspired by the People, with which it shared similar anti-corruption stances."Who Will Be PG's Mayor?"
Tropical Vision Limited, 2 March 2015. (accessed 18 April 2015)

Election results

External links

References

{{Belizean political parties Political parties established in 2007 Political parties disestablished in 2015 National Belizean Alliance Defunct political parties in Belize 2007 establishments in Belize Anti-corruption parties