Yearbook 2008
Belize. According to
Countryaah reports, the main opposition party United Democratic Party
(UDP) won a landslide victory in the general elections to
Parliament on February 7 with 57 percent of the votes cast.
The People's United Party (PUP) government gained only 41
percent and must leave the post after ten years in power,
mainly due to dissatisfaction with economic policy and
widespread corruption. The Social Democratic UDP thus took
25 of the 31 seats in Parliament, and its leader Dean Barrow
became Belize's first black prime minister and also finance
minister. The turnout was high, 74 percent, although it was
lower than in the 2003 elections.
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