On November 15, 2026, Belize’s United Democratic Party (UDP) formally announced its intention to file a legal appeal following a landmark ruling from San Ignacio Magistrate Sashawna Thompson that validated 114 previously challenged voters as eligible to remain on the official Cayo North constituency electoral roll. In the same judicial decision, the magistrate ordered 23 other contested names to be struck from the register entirely, upholding a preliminary ruling issued on Wednesday, November 11.
UDP executive member Alberto August laid out the core of the party’s legal grievance during a public statement, asserting that 80 of the 114 retained voters were added to the Cayo North list by the Elections and Boundaries Department without formal authorization from the legally mandated revising officer or a sitting magistrate. August emphasized that these unvetted individuals were permitted to cast ballots in the March 2025 general election, a procedural misstep the party argues undermines the integrity of local democratic processes. “The Elections and Boundaries Department added these voters to the Cayo North roll without the sign-off of the revising officer or a magistrate, and these people voted in the 2025 general election,” August stated, adding that the UDP holds a firm position that democratic governance in the Cayo North constituency is facing tangible, systemic risk. The party’s legal representative has already notified Magistrate Thompson of the planned appeal, initiating the next stage of the electoral dispute.
In a formal response, the ruling People’s United Party (PUP) dismissed the UDP’s full set of 147 voter objections as entirely frivolous and vexatious, noting that records confirm two of the contested voters passed away prior to the objection filing, while six others had already relocated outside the Cayo North division before the UDP submitted its challenges. The PUP argued that the vast majority of the UDP’s claims lacked sufficient supporting evidence to justify removing registered voters from the electoral roll, and that the magistrate’s ruling was a fair, evidence-based decision that protects the voting rights of eligible constituents.
UDP to Appeal After 114 Challenged Voters Stay on Cayo North List
