CPA facilitates Parliamentary Whips Training Session for Belize National Assembly
The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), in partnership with the National Assembly of Belize, organised a virtual Parliamentary Whip Training Session underscoring the Parliament's commitment to capacity building and fostering effective parliamentary democracy in Belize.
The training was aimed at strengthening parliamentary practice and enhancing the roles of the Whips in the Belize House of Representatives. A Parliamentary Whip is the Member of Parliament responsible for keeping colleagues in their party informed of House business and ensuring their attendance, particularly during key votes on legislation. It is a common feature of Commonwealth Legislatures and so there is huge value in sharing best practice across the CPA network.
The Belize MPs taking part included Hon. Henry Charles Usher, MP, Whip of the Governing side and Minister of Public Service, Governance and Disaster Risk Management, and Hon. Lee Mark Chang, MP, Whip of the Opposition. The Speaker of the Belize House of Representatives, Hon. Valerie Woods and the Clerk of the National Assembly, Mrs. Clarita Pech also attended.
The training was provided by Hon. Chris Elmore, MP, a long-standing Member of the UK House of Commons and Parliamentary Whip for the current UK Government.
CPA’s engagement with the Belize National Assembly has been extensive in recent years.
Belize undertook a self-assessment against the CPA Recommended Benchmarks for Democratic Legislatures and following that assessment, the National Assembly signed an MoU with the CPA to implement key recommendations through a Technical Assistance Programme (TAP). Under this programme, the CPA provided support for several institutional reforms – including the development of a draft Members’ Code of Conduct and a comprehensive Standing Orders review, and an Administrative Review of the Assembly’s operations.
Most recently, the CPA (in partnership with ParlAmericas) delivered a Post-Election Seminar for Belize’s Parliament earlier this year, following the general election. This seminar was designed to strengthen the skills of new and returning Parliamentarians in fundamental areas of legislative work.
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The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) is an international community of 180 Parliaments at national, state, provincial and territorial level working together to deepen the Commonwealth’s commitment to the highest standards of democratic governance. Visit www.cpahq.org for further information.
