UDP has won the General Elections

Belize: The ruling United Democratic Party (UDP) of Prime Minister Dean Barrow has won the general election by a slim three-seat margin, according to preliminary results, a CMC report said.

Josephine Tamai, Chief Elections Officer, said the UDP won a majority of 17 seats in the 31-seat parliament to the Francis Fonseca-led People’s United Party’s 14. She added that official results are not due until later on Thursday as final checks are still being made.

In the last general election, the UDP had won 25 seats.

The CMC report stated that Prime Minister, Dean Barrow, said last month that his first act, if re-elected, would be to renegotiate the terms of Belize’s so-called superbond, which makes up half the country’s debt and 40 per cent of its economic output. Belize is the 13th most indebted country in the world and faces a schedule of rising interest rates over the next 12 months.