General elections were held in Belize

Belize

Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...

 on 30 June 1993. Althouth the People's United Party

People's United Party

The People's United Party is one of two major political parties in Belize, and currently the main opposition party. It is a Christian Democratic party; the current Party Leader is Francis Fonseca....

 received the most votes, the United Democratic Party

United Democratic Party (Belize)

The United Democratic Party is one of the two major political parties in Belize, and currently the ruling party, having won the 2008 general elections. A centre-right conservative party, it is currently led by Dean Barrow.-Founding:...

-National Alliance for Belizean Rights alliance won more seats. Voter turnout was 72.1%.

Background

British forces, kept in Belize by agreement of its government since independence in 1981, were scheduled to leave in 1993 or 1994. There was widespread belief that Belize would fall prey to Guatemala

Guatemala

Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...

n incursions if the British left. The ruling People's United Party

People's United Party

The People's United Party is one of two major political parties in Belize, and currently the main opposition party. It is a Christian Democratic party; the current Party Leader is Francis Fonseca....

 won a by-election for a Belize City

Belize City

Belize City is the largest city in the Central American nation of Belize. Unofficial estimates place the population of Belize City at 70,000 or more. It is located at the mouth of the Belize River on the coast of the Caribbean. The city is the country's principal port and its financial and...

 constituency in late January and subsequent City Council elections in March

Belizean municipal elections, 1993–1994

Belizean municipal election, 1993–1994 was a series of municipal elections held in Belize within a period of twelve months and sandwiching a general election.-Results:...

, their second straight. Possibly buoyed by these successes, and the appearance of disunity within the UDP (the NABR consisted mostly of former UDP politicians who had broken with leaders Manuel Esquivel

Manuel Esquivel

Sir Manuel Esquivel, KCMG, PC is a Belizean politician. As leader of the United Democratic Party, he served as Prime Minister from 1984 to 1989, and then again from 1993 to 1998.-Biography:...

 and Dean Barrow

Dean Barrow

Dean Oliver Barrow is Prime Minister of Belize and leader of the United Democratic Party. An attorney by trade, he served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1993 to 1998 and was then Leader of the Opposition until the UDP won the February 2008 election...

 over the Guatemalan claim

Guatemalan claim to Belizean territory

The Belizean-Guatemalan territorial dispute is an unresolved binational territorial dispute between the states of Belize and Guatemala, neighbours in Central America...

), Prime Minister George Price

George Price

George Price is the name of:* George Price , footballer* George Price * George Cadle Price , former prime minister of Belize* George E...

 called elections nearly a year-and-a-half early (they were not constitutionally due until at least December 1994). With Price's move the UDP and NABR promptly sought coalition to achieve victory at the polls.

Results

3

Party	Votes	%	Seats	+/-
People's United Party People's United Party The People's United Party is one of two major political parties in Belize, and currently the main opposition party. It is a Christian Democratic party; the current Party Leader is Francis Fonseca....	36,082	51.2	13
United Democratic Party United Democratic Party (Belize) The United Democratic Party is one of the two major political parties in Belize, and currently the ruling party, having won the 2008 general elections. A centre-right conservative party, it is currently led by Dean Barrow.-Founding:... -National Alliance for Belizean Rights	34,306	48.7	16
Independents	43	0.1	0	0
Invalid/blank votes	499
Total	70,930	100	29	+1
Source: Nohlen

This was an extremely close election in several constituencies:

• Caribbean Shores, in the Belize City area, and Stann Creek West, had margins of only 40 and 34 votes, respectively, with the UDP-NABR winner less than two percent over the PUP runner-up in two-way races. Voter turnout was 67% and 77%, respectively.
• Belize Rural North, with a turnout of 70.6%, chose its PUP winner with 943 votes, to 939 for the UDP-NABR runner-up. There were 23 rejected ballots, more than enough to sway the result if their invalidity was challenged.
• Collet (Belize City area), with a turnout of only 59.8%, chose its UDP-NABR winner with 951 votes, to 950 for the PUP runner-up and 10 votes for an independent candidate. There were three rejected ballots.
• Cayo North, with a turnout of 76.5%, chose its UDP-NABR winner with 1,890 votes, to 1,872 for the PUP runner-up. There were 35 rejected ballots, more than enough to sway the result.
• Corozal Southwest, with a turnout of 80.6%, chose its PUP winner with 1,464 votes, to 1,461 for the UDP-NABR runner-up. There were 13 rejected ballots, more than enough to sway the result.
• Orange Walk North, with a turnout of 85.0%, chose its UDP-NABR winner with 1,426 votes, to 1,421 for the PUP runner-up. There were 12 rejected ballots, more than enough to sway the result.
• Toledo East, with a turnout of 75.2%, chose its UDP-NABR winner with 1,552 votes, to 1,548 for the PUP runner-up. There were 11 rejected ballots, more than enough to sway the result.