Belize
About parliament
Basic information such as the official name of parliament and details of its structure and leadership. Also includes the current breakdown of MPs by sex and age, and provisions for quotas and reserved seats.
Parliament name
National Assembly
Chamber name
Senate
Structure & Status of parliament
This field is to indicate lower/upper in the back end.
Upper chamber
Parliamentary term (years)
5
IPU membership
Affiliation periods
Speaker
Official title
The Speaker may for example be known as the Presiding Officer, President, Chairman/Chairperson, etc.
President of the Senate
Speaker
Carolyn
Trench Sandiford
(Female)
Year of birth
1962
Term
11.12.2020
Additional information
Elected on 11 Dec. 2020.
Secretary General
Official title
This post is most commonly called Secretary General or Clerk. It may also be called Secretary, Head/Chief of the Secretariat, Director General, etc.
Clerk to the National Assembly
Secretary General
Eddie
Webster
(Male)
Notes
Additional information about the Secretary General, in particular regarding their term.
Appointed on 12 Apr. 2010.
Members
Statutory number of members
Statutory number of members, as defined in the constitution or other fundamental law.
Principal mode of designation of members
Appointed
Compare data of this field.
Appointed members
Appointed, for example, by the Head of State.
13
Other members
For example, ex-officio members of parliament, such as Cabinet members, members of the royal family, Attorney General, Speaker if appointed from outside parliament.
1
Note on the statutory number of members
Appointed members: Six members are appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister; three on the advice of the Leader of the Opposition; one on the advice of the Belize Council of Churches and the Evangelical Association of Churches; one on the advice of the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Belize Business Bureau; and one on the advice of the National Trade Union Congress of Belize and the Civil Society Steering Committee.
Other: The President may be designated from outside the Senate and becomes a member of the Senate by virtue of holding the office of President.
See historical data for this field.
Other: The President may be designated from outside the Senate and becomes a member of the Senate by virtue of holding the office of President.
Current number of members
Number of members who currently hold seats in parliament. May be lower or higher than the statutory number of members.
Men
The number of male parliamentarians who currently hold seats in parliament.
Women
The number of female parliamentarians who currently hold seats in parliament.
Percentage of women
Calculated by dividing the current number of women by the current number of members.
Statutory number of members per country
As defined in the constitution or other fundamental laws. Combines the number of parliamentarians in both chambers in bicameral parliaments.
Population (in thousands)
Click for historical data
See historical data for this field.
Age
Data on the age of parliamentarians is collected at the start of the legislature, following the most recent elections. This data is not updated during the legislature, except when parliament notifies the IPU of a change in the youngest or oldest member.
Reserved seats and quotas
There are reserved seats in parliament for certain groups
Reserved seats are a means to ensure the parliamentary representation of certain groups in society.
Number of reserved seats, by group
Other groups
3
Notes
Three of twelve appointed seats in parliament are appointed on the advice of:
- the Belize Council of Churches and the Evangelical Association of Churches;
- the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Belize Business Bureau;
- the National Trade Union Congress of Belize and the Civil Society Steering Committee.
- the Belize Council of Churches and the Evangelical Association of Churches;
- the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Belize Business Bureau;
- the National Trade Union Congress of Belize and the Civil Society Steering Committee.
Electoral quota for women
Quotas to promote the representation of women in parliament.
Electoral quota for youth
Quotas to promote the representation of youth in parliament.
Links to additional information
Parliamentary website
Link(s) to parliamentary web site in English, French and/or local languages.
Rules of procedure/Standing Orders
Link(s) to Rules of procedure on the parliamentary web site in English, French and/or local language.
List of members
Link(s) to list of members on the parliamentary web site.
Constitution
Official links to the Constitution in English, French and/or original language is provided. Links to unofficial translations where no other source is available.