The People's National Party of

Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern 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 maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...

was a political movement headquartered in Punta Gorda,

Toledo District Toledo is the southernmost and least populated district in Belize. Punta Gorda is the District capital. According to the Human Development Index (HDI), it is the second most developed region in the country. The district has a diverse topograph ...

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

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

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 and other opposition political groups to form the

Belize Progressive Party The Belize Progressive Party (BPP) is a Belizean political party founded in 2015 by a merger of several extra-parliamentary opposition groups. The BPP made its electoral debut in the November 2015 general election, in which it fielded 25 candidate ...

."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 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 (EBC) 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 ...

. (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 There is an unresolved territorial dispute between the states of Belize (formerly known as British Honduras) and Guatemala, neighbours in Central America. During the late 1600s and throughout the 1700s, Britain and Spain signed several treaties ...

, inclusive of accepting any potential rulings from the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; , CIJ), or colloquially the World Court, is the only international court that Adjudication, adjudicates general disputes between nations, and gives advisory opinions on International law, internation ...

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 Belizean legislative election, 2008 general elections in Belize. Formation The NBA was formed in October 2007 in Belize City between the We the People Reform Movemen ...

(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. Belmopan is the smallest capital city in the continental Americas (by population) and the third-largest settlement in Belize, behind Belize City and San Ignacio. Fou ...

-based Vision Inspired by the People, with which it shared similar anti-corruption stances."Who Will Be PG's Mayor?"

Tropical Vision Limited Tropical Vision Limited, or as it is locally known, Channel 7, is a Belize City based television station A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, ...

, 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