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News > Latin America

Guatemala Prepares for Vote in Land Dispute with Belize

  • Map showing the disputed territory between Belize and the Republic of Guatemala.

    Map showing the disputed territory between Belize and the Republic of Guatemala. | Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Published 17 March 2018
Opinion

Some 7.5 million citizens are eligible to cast their ballot in the consultation, according to the electoral register of the TSE.

Guatemala is laying fresh claim to 19,600 square kilometers of land that currently belong to Belize in a territorial dispute that has been raging for more than 200 years.

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The Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) has prepared a 'popular consultation' on the territorial, insular and maritime dispute with Belize, with the vote due to be held on April 15.

Under the slogan 'Vote for Guate,' the Guatemalan government has allocated more than US$41 million to ask the population if the nation should bring the issue before the International Court of Justice.

TSE spokesperson Luis Gerardo Ramirez said 135 coordinators and delegates of polling stations have already been sworn in and will oversee operations on the day of the vote.

"The Popular Consultation is the mechanism through which the people approve or not transcendental decisions of the nation," he posted on Twitter. "Learn and participate in the #ConsultaPopular2018 on the territorial, insular and maritime dispute with Belize http://consulta2018.tse.org.gt/ #ParticipemosPorGuatemala."

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At least 7.5 million citizens are eligible to cast their ballot in the consultation, according to the electoral register of the TSE, which has also arranged for 135 educational institutions to act as operations centers where ballots, plastic bags and other supplies will be safeguarded.

In another Twitter post, the TSE said: "#ExpresaTuOpinion and participate in the #ConsultaPopular2018 to decide if the International Court of Justice definitively resolves the dispute with Belize that dates back more than 200 years."

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