Albert (Belize House constituency)

Albert is an electoral constituency in the Belize District of Belize.

Albert
Constituency for the Belize House of Representatives
Belize City's historic Swing Bridge with the Belize City Commercial Center (located in Albert) in the background.
District	Belize
Electorate	3,468 (2015)
Major settlements	Belize City (part)
Current constituency
Created	1961
Party	United Democratic Party
Area Representative	Tracy Taegar-Panton

History

The Albert constituency was created for the 1961 general election as part of a major nationwide redistricting. Albert is named after the principal street (Albert Street) within its jurisdiction.

Albert Constituency is home to the headquarters of most of Belize's banks, Belize City's major stores, The Supreme Court of Belize City, The Bliss Center for the Performing Arts, The Belize City House of Culture, Battlefield Park, the Belize City Commercial Center, and several government offices.

Location and geographic setting

Albert, often referred to locally as Albert Division, is located entirely within the boundaries of Belize City, and is one of 10 constituencies in the Belize District that fall within its city limits. Albert is considered the downtown area of Belize City and is located on the eastern part of the city's southside.

Albert is bounded by the Caribbean Sea to the east and south, Haulover Creek to the north, and the constituencies of Mesopotamia and Queen's Square to the west. The historic Belize City Swing Bridge, which crosses Haulover Creek, connects Albert with the Fort George constituency. Albert is Belize's smallest constituency in terms of area.

Politics

In an era in which the People's United Party overwhelmingly dominated Belizean national politics, Philip Goldson of the National Independence Party first won Albert in 1965. He held the seat as a member of the NIP, then the UDP and finally the NABR until his retirement in 1998. Goldson was the sole opposition member in the Belize House during much of the 1960s and early 1970s.

In 1998 Mark Espat won the constituency for the PUP for the first time in 37 years, defeating the UDP's Tom Morrison. Espat was re-elected by comfortable margins until his retirement in 2012.

Albert is currently represented in the House of Representatives of Belize by the UDP's Tracy Taegar- Panton, who is Minister of State with responsibility for Investment, Trade and Commerce.

Area Representatives

Election		Area Representative[1]	Party
	1961	Frederick Westby	PUP
	1965	Philip Goldson	NIP
	1973		UDP
	1992		NABR
	1998	Mark Espat	PUP
	2012	Herman R. Longsworth	UDP
	2015	Tracy Panton	UDP

Elections

Election	Political result		Candidate		Party	Votes	%	±%
2012 general election [2] Electorate: 3,180 Turnout: 1,886 (59.31%) −13.52		UDP gain from PUP Majority: 227 (12.04%) −14.9		Herman R. Longsworth	UDP	1,034	54.83	+18.87
				David Craig	PUP	807	42.79	−20.11
2008 general election [3] Electorate: 3,242 Turnout: 2,361 (72.83%) −5.3		PUP hold Majority: 636 (26.94%) −41.75		Mark Espat	PUP	1,485	62.9	−19.93
				Tom Morrison	UDP	849	35.96	+21.82
2003 general election [4] Electorate: 2,286 Turnout: 1,789 (78.13%) −12.66		PUP hold Majority: 1,229 (68.69%) +27.05		Mark Espat	PUP	1,482	82.83	+12.99
				Marilyn Williams	UDP	253	14.14	−14.06
				Sydney Fuller	Independent	54	3.02	-
1998 general election [5] Electorate: 1,738 Turnout: 1,578 (90.79%) +34.18		PUP gain from NABR Majority: 657 (41.64%) +28.44		Mark Espat	PUP	1,102	69.84	+26.44
				Tom Morrison	UDP	445	28.2	-
				Gilda Jo-Ann Lewis	NABR	18	1.14	−55.46
				Ruth Patricia Smith	PDP	4	0.25	-
1993 general election [6][7] Electorate: 2,701 Turnout: 1,529 (56.61%) −1.77		NABR hold Majority: 201 (13.2%) −4.8		Philip Goldson	NABR	865	56.6	-
				Roy Young	PUP	664	43.4	+3.3
1989 general election [8][9] Electorate: 2,393 Turnout: 1,397 (58.38%) −4.97		UDP hold Majority: 252 (18.0%) −21.0		Philip Goldson	UDP	812	58.1	−11.0
				Roy Young	PUP	560	40.1	+10.0
1984 general election [10][11] Electorate: 2,180 Turnout: 1,381 (63.35%) −24.73		UDP hold Majority: 539 (39.0%) +28.5		Philip Goldson	UDP	954	69.1	+14.4
				Rafael Chavez	PUP	415	30.1	−14.1
1979 general election [12] Electorate: 3,474 Turnout: 3,060 (88.08%) +22.31		UDP hold Majority: 10.5% (−9.2)		Philip Goldson	UDP		54.7	−4.5
				George Dakers	PUP		44.2	+4.7
1974 general election [13] Electorate: 2,375 Turnout: 1,562 (65.77%) −9.11		UDP hold Majority: 19.7% (+4.9)		Philip Goldson	UDP		59.2	-
				Joseph Gray	PUP		39.5	−2.4
1969 general election [14] Electorate: 2,544 Turnout: 1,905 (74.88%) +3.42		NIP hold Majority: 14.8% (+3.4)		Philip Goldson	NIP		56.7	+1.1
				Joseph Gray	PUP		41.9	−2.3
1965 general election [15] Electorate: 3,577 Turnout: 2,556 (71.46%) −10.44		NIP gain from PUP Majority: 11.4% (+6.5)		Philip Goldson	NIP		55.6	+36.9
				Frederick Westby	PUP		44.2	+1.4
1961 general election [16] Electorate: 2,424 Turnout: 2,058 (84.9%) n/a		PUP win Majority: 4.9% (n/a)		Frederick Westby	PUP		42.8	-
				Nicholas Pollard	CDP		37.9	-
				Floss Casasola	NIP		18.7	-

See also

• Districts of Belize
• Constituencies of Belize
• Politics of Belize
• Belize
• Belize City

References

1. Elections Results, Belize Elections and Boundaries Commission. (accessed 20 November 2014)
2. GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS 2012, Belize Elections and Boundaries Commission. (accessed 19 November 2014)
3. 2008 General Elections Final Results , Belize Elections and Boundaries Commission. (accessed 19 November 2014)
4. 2003 General Elections final results, Belize Elections and Boundaries Commission. (accessed 19 November 2014)
5. General Elections 1998, Belize Elections and Boundaries Commission. (accessed 19 November 2014)
6. General Elections 1993, Belize Elections and Boundaries Commission. (accessed 19 November 2014)
7. 1993 Parliamentary Elections, Political Database of the Americas. (accessed 22 November 2014)
8. General Elections 1989, Belize Elections and Boundaries Commission. (accessed 19 November 2014)
9. 1989 Parliamentary Elections, Political Database of the Americas. (accessed 22 November 2014)
10. General Elections 1984, Belize Elections and Boundaries Commission. (accessed 19 November 2014)
11. 1984 Parliamentary Elections, Political Database of the Americas. (accessed 22 November 2014)
12. General Elections 1979, Belize Elections and Boundaries Commission. (accessed 19 November 2014)
13. General Elections 1974, Belize Elections and Boundaries Commission. (accessed 19 November 2014)
14. General Elections 1969, Belize Elections and Boundaries Commission. (accessed 19 November 2014)
15. General Elections 1965, Belize Elections and Boundaries Commission. (accessed 19 November 2014)
16. General Elections 1961, Belize Elections and Boundaries Commission. (accessed 19 November 2014)

External links

• Belize Elections & Boundaries Department's Map of Belize District Constituencies
• Ministry of National Development, Investment & Culture