The prime minister, usually the leader of the largest party in the parliament, is head of government. Formally, the prime minister is appointed by the governor general, who represents the British monarch as head of state. The legitimacy of the prime minister is largely dependent on the conduct of legislative elections, which are typically credible and well administered. After 17 years in opposition, the People’s United Party (PUP), under the leadership of Johnny Briceño, won a convincing victory in the 2020 elections, defeating the United Democratic Party (UDP).

The 31 members of the House of Representatives are directly elected to five-year terms. The Senate has 12 seats. The ruling party, the opposition, and several civil associations select the senators, who are then appointed by the governor general.

In the 2020 legislative polls, the opposition PUP won a landslide victory. Turnout was over 81 percent, the highest rate since 1998.

Electoral laws are generally fair, although the Elections and Boundaries Commission is somewhat politicized. There are large differences in constituency size, and boundaries have not changed since 2005, despite the population of Belize growing by roughly 50 percent.

In 2022, a cross-party redistricting task force was created to make recommendations on how the disparities between constituencies could be reduced. It published its report in July 2023, and the findings were criticized by all sides. The proposed redistricting plan suggested that some constituencies would have up to 35 percent more or fewer voters than the national average. The report sparked concerns that the redistricting process could be politically manipulated or result in unfair differences in representation among the districts.

In 2022, the parliament passed the People’s Constitution Commission Act, beginning the process of comprehensive constitutional reform, and the People’s Constitution Commission (PCC) was officially launched. The PCC, which is made up of representatives from Belize’s main political parties and 19 civil society organizations, is tasked with reviewing the existing constitution, holding consultations on constitutional reforms across Belize and among the Belizean diaspora, and issuing a final report on its findings. A series of consultations took place in 2023.

Political parties can organize freely. The effects of the country’s first-past-the-post electoral system and a degree of political clientelism have entrenched the country’s two largest parties.

The political system allows opposition parties to increase their support or gain power through elections. There have been fairly regular transfers of power between the two main parties since 1984.

Recent elections, including those in 2020, have been viewed as generally free of undue interference from entities outside the democratic political sphere. However, concerns have been raised about the potential impact of unregulated campaign financing on the political process.

Women are reasonably well represented in the political system, and hold five seats in the current House of Representatives and six seats in the Senate. In municipal elections in 2021, 24 women were elected, and the capital city, Belmopan, elected its first woman mayor.

Indigenous people, particularly those of Mayan descent, make up 11 percent of the population but are not well represented in politics. Mestizo Belizeans and Afro-Indigenous peoples are better integrated into the political system. LGBT+ people face discrimination, which affects their ability to engage fully in political and electoral processes. A collection of religious denominations nominates one member of the Senate, but non-Christian groups are not included in the process.

The elected prime minister, cabinet, and national legislative representatives are duly seated following elections and are able to freely determine the policies of the government.

Belize continues to struggle with corruption. In 2023, parliament passed legislation related to the recovery of civil assets and Belize held an anticorruption month, during which government ministries received guidance on how best to identify corrupt practices and the government restated its support for international anticorruption treaties.

Also in 2023, the PUP government broke an agreement made by a senior UDP government minister for the construction of a new cruise ship docking facility that included a provision providing 30-year tax breaks. The agreement was reportedly not authorized by the prime minister, and two investigations on the topic have been launched.

In 2022, the US government accused John Saldivar, a high-ranking UDP member, of “significant corruption,” including providing Belizean immigration documents in return for bribes and interfering in public processes for personal gain while he was a government official. No legal action was taken against him, and in February 2023 he was selected as the UDP’s nominee to represent Belmopan, Belize’s capital.

The government generally engages in policymaking with openness and transparency. While issues remain with procurement processes and officials’ financial disclosure statements, the PUP government has sought to improve transparency and address corruption.

The constitution guarantees freedom of the press, though it includes exceptions for interests such as national security, public order, and morality. While reporting generally covers a wide range of viewpoints in practice, journalists sometimes face threats, physical harassment, or assault in the course of their work.

In 2022, the cabinet approved the replacement of the existing Libel and Defamation Act with a new Defamation Act. Among other things, the new Defamation Act eliminated the separate offenses of libel and slander, replacing them with the single offense of defamation. The act expanded the definition of acts considered defamatory and the scope of persons who can be held liable. Critics have raised concerns about restrictions the new law may place on the media.

Religious freedom is constitutionally protected and largely respected in practice.

Academic freedom is generally respected.

There are no significant constraints on individual expression.

Freedom of assembly is constitutionally protected, and the government generally respects this right.

Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are generally free from government interference.

Unions are free to form and operate, and employers have been penalized for violating union rights under the labor code. There are some restrictions on the right to strike, and while labor unions are active and politically influential, their ability to protect workers’ rights is limited in practice.

The judiciary is generally independent, despite inadequate resources and periodic attempts by political and business interests to interfere with its composition.

Legislation has been passed requiring senior judges to deliver their written judgments within six months or face dismissal. In 2022, the parliament passed new legislation that replaced the Supreme Court with a new High Court, which, with the Court of Appeal, comprises a new Senior Court system. It was unclear how well the new system was operating in 2023.

Detainees and defendants are guaranteed a range of legal rights, which are mostly respected in practice. However, police have reportedly detained suspects without charge for longer than is permitted by the law and have used the threat of extended detention to intimidate suspects. Judicial delays and a large backlog of cases contribute to lengthy trials and other procedures, with many defendants spending years in pretrial detention.

Belize is free from major threats to physical security, such as war and insurgencies, but a long-running border dispute with Guatemala remains unresolved. Tensions have lessened in recent years, but there are occasional incidents.

Belize continues to have one of the highest per capita murder rates in the world. Much of the violence that occurs is concentrated in the southern portion of Belize City, and in July 2023 authorities declared a state of emergency there after a spike in shootings. However, the overall number of homicides fell in 2023. From January to June, there were 41 homicides; the lowest midyear figure in more than a decade. That trend continued throughout the rest of the year, with approximately 90 homicides by the end of December, down from 113 in 2022.

Cases of police brutality continue to be reported, but regular prosecutions and convictions of police officers occur.

There is growing evidence that drug cartels that grow coca are gaining a foothold in southern Belize. In August 2023, a large plantation was discovered in a remote area of the Toledo District.

Belize’s constitution and laws protect against many forms of discrimination, but there are no specific provisions addressing sexual orientation or gender identity, and discrimination against LGBT+ people persists. In 2016, the Supreme Court struck down a provision of the criminal code that outlawed same-sex sexual activity, a decision that the Court of Appeal upheld in 2019 when it confirmed that constitutional freedom of expression and antidiscrimination protections include sexual orientation.

Women face employment discrimination and are less likely than men to hold managerial positions. The government has actively pursued programs aimed at encouraging gender equality and protecting women’s rights.

Migration into Belize has increased significantly in recent years, and government estimates suggest that up to 15 percent of the country’s population lacks official documentation. In April 2023, Belize imposed new entry requirements for Haitian and Jamaican nationals, and in August authorities detained 13 Brazilian citizens with falsified Belizean stamps on their passports. Within Belize, migrants face legal and social challenges when integrating into Belizean society. In 2022, an amnesty program began to allow undocumented immigrants to gain permanent residency under certain conditions. In November 2023, the government announced that the process of vetting migrants who had applied for the program would conclude in March 2024. However, of the estimated 40,000 to 60,000 migrants in Belize, only a small percentage participated in the program.

No separate legal system or laws specifically protect Indigenous people.

The government generally respects freedom of internal movement and foreign travel.

Individuals have the right to own property and establish private businesses. However, legal regulations are at times poorly enforced. Leaders of Indigenous Maya communities say their ancestral land rights are not protected, particularly with regard to oil exploration and logging activities.

Personal social freedoms are generally respected, though domestic violence remains a serious problem despite government measures to combat it. Rape is illegal, but reporting and conviction rates are low, and sentences are sometimes light.

Some legal protections against exploitative working conditions are respected and enforced. However, Belizean and foreign women and girls are vulnerable to sex trafficking, and migrant workers are sometimes subjected to forced labor in agriculture, fisheries, and retail businesses. The US State Department’s 2023 Trafficking in Persons Report recognized the government’s efforts to combat trafficking, but also noted that the government had failed to “adequately address official complicity in trafficking crimes.”