79% of Caye Cauker referendum voters reject cannabis legalization
CAYE CAULKER, Belize District, Thurs. Oct. 9, 2025
The four churches in Caye Caulker, with support from mainland church leaders, on Wednesday delivered a massive victory for the Hope Not Dope campaign, decisively halting the push for a regulated cannabis industry on the island. Of the 1,454 eligible voters, there was a solid 58.94% turnout — 857 in total. Of those, a commanding 678 voted NO, while just 176 voted YES, delivering an emphatic verdict against cannabis legalization. There were three rejected ballots. The voter turnout was 9.24% higher than the 49.7% of voters on the island who participated in the March 12, 2025 general elections. Speaking on the higher turnout, Church Senator Louis Wade, Jr. stated, “It tells me that the marijuana issue is more a current issue than actually those who ran for general elections – which is amazing.”
From our own unofficial poll of over two dozen persons on an active main street on the island the night before the referendum, and on our way to the polling area on the morning of the referendum, it was clear that the majority of residents did not favor legalization. Only a couple persons were in favour, and one was unsure about actually going to cast his ballot. Another resident said that it made no sense to vote, since he was of the opinion that the government would push through with legalization anyway. A father of three told us clearly, “Caye Caulker is not ready for legalization.” One of the main positions of the residents, which was repeated by the churches, was that the island, while laid back, remains family-oriented. One smoker told us, “Might as well we leff it how Barrow set it fu we. Barrow leff it 10 grams; we will work with 10 grams.” Some noted that residents become uncomfortable when tourists try to smoke marijuana at restaurants, and quickly emphasize that the 2017 amendment of the law only provided for smoking the herb at home and at privately-owned premises, not in public spaces (like hotels).
The Hope Not Dope paraphernalia was visible on the island, most prominently on golf carts and T-shirts. On referendum day itself, the YES vote supporters were equipped with T-shirts and pamphlets, but their machinery was clearly not as well-resourced as their opponents. On Tuesday night when we ran into Wade and Pastor Scott Stirm, the vice president of the National Evangelical Association of Belize, Stirm jokingly remarked, “The Bible says that God is the God of the cattle of a thousand hills, and we have sold off some of those cattle.” He added, “People have been contributing. Money has been pouring in from people that feel very strongly about this.” Even at that point, before the dawn of the day of the referendum, he had predicted, “It’s looking like a big win for the NO vote.” Wade did express concerns, even as he maintained that the coordination of the NO campaign was entirely an organic effort of the Caye Caulker community, and that the mainland support of the churches was merely to ensure there were no gaps. “We came to just ensure that the machinery is in place, that the people are highly motivated,” he said.
Wade shared that the churches on the island had difficulties getting the voters list, and that it was finally delivered on the last day of objections at mid-afternoon, giving them no time to formally object to names they deemed to be questionable. He noted, “Between 3 o’clock and 5 o’clock we found, I think it was 69 votes that were transferred, just for the referendum, onto the island.” Nonetheless, he believed they had “a wide enough margin to overcome those little shenanigans.”
Wade said they had received reports that the YES campaign was promising $200 per vote; and on the day of the referendum, the claim was that the payout was $100. Wade told Amandala, “There is no ‘bacon house’; there are two ‘bacon golf carts.’” For his part, Caye Caulker town councilor Ilia Rosado, who organized the petition for the referendum, said they heard that it was the churches which were paying for votes, but was quick to declare that he had no evidence of this. He did express disappointment that the issue had descended into contention and, in his view, was marred by widespread misinformation. He reported that, whereas people on the island wished to speak with him, they preferred not to do so while he was on the campaign trail, because “they feel they would be alienated by the rest of the community”, which he found “to be unfortunate.” He expressed the hope that when the vote was over, they could put any animosity behind them and remain unified.
Caye Caulker chairlady, Seleny Villanueva-Pott, affirmed that the matter was not dividing the town council, and that they have great respect for Rosado, to whom they offered any help if he needed it. She reported that whereas several councilors, herself included, initially supported the YES vote, they subsequently changed their positions. She explained that the Council is always grappling for finances to meet the needs of the electorate, and “at the time, we felt like, you know, maybe this is the way to go, where we will have all these revenues available to us.” However, she indicated that after doing their research, based on social implications and on areas that have legalized marijuana, as well as a review of the legislation, they had a change of heart. In her case, she said she has a 12-year-old son she needs to consider. In relation to Councilor Rosado, she affirmed that she admires his drive and dedication. “I know this is coming from a good place … He is merely concerned about improving lives … and he believed that this would be a way how we could change a lot for the electorate,” she stated.
Belize Rural South area representative, Hon. Andre Perez similarly made the call for people to be respectful of one another. “We don’t want go get personal … we’re too much of a small community. We don’t want division,” he said. Perez told Amandala thathe was on the island to observe the process.
The NO vote effort was impressively well-organized, and Wade told us that they capitalized on the experience of supporters who have assisted with political campaigns in the past on both sides of the political divide. Voters streamed in steadily at the three polling stations at the Caye Caulker Roman Catholic School in the morning, from the opening of polls at 7:00 a.m. and during lunchtime. The average hourly turnout was over 80 votes. That slowed between 4:00 and 5:00, but increased in the last hour, with polls closing at 6:00 p.m.
The ground commander and leader of the NO vote was Celina Rodriguez, who has worked on Perez’ political campaign and others. While she could not cite an actual figure of what was expended on the NO campaign and referendum day machinery, she told us they received a lot of in-kind donations.
In the case of the YES campaign, Councilor Rosado said the workers from the constituency committee of Hon. Kareem Musa, the Minister of New Growth Industries, who has been championing the creation of a marijuana industry, went out to the island to assist because they believe in the cause. He said Musa was helpful with advice and with finding volunteers to support their machinery. Rosado says he does not consider that Musa’s involvement put him in a position of conflict of interest. He opined, “I don’t think so. I mean, he’s the Minister for New Growth Industries, and we are literally trying to grow a new industry, so it sounds sort of like his expertise.” Minister Perez likewise rejected the notion of conflict of interest, and stated that people within his committee also went to Caye Caulker and supported both the YES and NO vote.
The referendum proceeded peacefully, prompting returning officer, Anthony Mai to describe it as an example of “democracy at its finest.” Upon announcing the results to the almost 200 NO-vote supporters, who were the only ones who had patiently waited outside the counting station until after 8:00 p.m., Chief Elections Officer, Josephine Tamai commended the Caye Caulker electorate for a smooth referendum day. According to Mai, a total of 13 officials conducted the election. On the security front, we were told that the officers on the island were not supplemented, but this would have been done if needed. We observed a robust presence of police at the polling area.
For his part, Glenfield Denison, Senator for the National Trade Union Congress of Belize, who served as a referendum monitor, told Amandala after several hours of voting that the elections workers were seasoned in running elections, and resolved reported issues posthaste.
By the following morning, with the heightened activity behind them, La Isla Cariñosa settled back into its usual rhythm, and many were breathing a sigh of relief at the outcome. A waitress confirmed the churches’ affirmation that large Christian groups regularly visit the island, and that legalization would have changed the reality on the ground. One of the pastors on the island stated after the official results were announced, “No weapon has been formed that could destroy the people of God and Caye Caulker. They are God’s people!”
