Cannabis referendum triggered

Black Immigrant Daily News

Churches meet the threshold for the cannabis referendum by just 137 signatures: 20,112 petitions received, 18,891 accepted

BELIZE CITY, Mon. July 4, 2022

The Governor-General, Dame Froyla Tzlam, will issue a writ of referendum within 30 days, after receiving confirmation today from the Elections and Boundaries Department that the churches have met the 10% threshold necessary to trigger a referendum on the legalization of cannabis in Belize. A number of petitions were rejected, a total of 1221, but the church’s strategy to get more signatures than needed proved to be worthwhile, since the threshold was met with only 137 petitions.

At this time a total of 187,527 voters are registered, Chief Elections Officer Josephine Tamai explained to local media today; 10% of that amount, the required threshold to trigger a referendum, is 18,754. The churches were able to garner 18,891 accepted signatures, of the 20,112 that were submitted.

A referendum is set to be held in about 60 days following this confirmation, and the Minister of New Growth Industries, Hon.Kareem Musa, has projected that date for the holding of the referendum to be sometime around September this year.

Musa also remarked that the church’s success shows that our democratic process is at work. 

The legislation to legalize cannabis and create a framework for the development of a cannabis industry in Belize has been tabled in both houses of Parliament  and passed. While the government will not be legally bound to abide by the results of the referendum, it will be able to ascertain the stance of the general public as it relates to cannabis legalization.

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