National Assembly (Belize)
National Assembly | |
---|---|
Type | |
Type | |
Houses | Senate (upper house) House of Representatives (lower house) |
Leadership | |
President of the Senate
|
Marco Pech
Since 21 March 2012 |
Vice President of the Senate
|
Juliet Thimbriel, UDP
Since March 2012 |
Leader of the Opposition
|
|
Speaker of the House of Representatives
|
Michael Peyrefitte
Since 21 March 2012 |
Structure | |
Seats | 43 members 31 representatives 12 senators |
Senate political groups
|
UDP (6) PUP (3) Other (3) |
House of Representatives political groups
|
UDP (19)
PUP (12)
|
Elections | |
appointed by the Governor-General | |
Meeting place | |
Belmopan | |
Website | |
www |
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. The National Assembly is the bicameral legislature of the nation of Belize. It is divided into the House of Representatives, with 31 members, elected by universal suffrage, and the Senate, with 12 members, appointed by the Governor-General in consultation with the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition. The presiding officer of the House is the Speaker, while the Senate is presided over by the President.
History
The National Assembly of Belize, then known as British Honduras was first introduced on 31 December, 1963, replacing the unicameral Legislative Assembly.
The National Assembly has the power to debate and create laws based on the Constitution. It typically meets, both House and Senate, once a month, with other meetings called as necessary.
National Assembly Building, Belmopan
Since the relocation of the capital to Belmopan, the Parliament has sat at National Assembly Building, Belmopan since 1970.
See also
- Politics of Belize
- List of legislatures by country
- Prime Minister of Belize
- Governor-General of Belize