Vacation of seat and by-election

(1) If any elected member of a council, 12 (a) dies; (b) by writing under his hand addressed to the council resigns his seat; (c) makes any declaration or acknowledgment of allegiance to any foreign state or power; (d) becomes a citizen of any country which does not recognize dual nationality; (e) is sentenced by a court in Belize to death or to imprisonment for a term exceeding twelve (f) is absent without good cause from three consecutive meetings of the council; or (g) violates the rules of the council or behaves in a manner inconsistent with the good administration of the council and the council, after affording the member an opportunity to present a defence, passes a resolution by the votes of at least five officers expelling the his seat on the council shall thereupon become vacant and a notification of the facts and circumstances of such vacancy shall be published in the Gazette, by radio and in a local newspaper circulating within the village where such seat becomes vacant. (2) If such vacancy occurs while a council’s term of office has at least six months of unexpired time, a by-election to fill that vacancy shall be held on a date to be fixed by the council, being not less than twenty and not more than sixty days after the vacancy arises. 13 (3) Such election shall be held, and the voting and other procedures shall be conducted, in the same manner and subject to the same rules as are provided in this Act and any regulations made hereunder in respect of the ordinary election of officers of a council. (4) Every member so elected shall hold office for the unexpired period of the term of office of the officer in whose place he was elected but shall then be eligible for re-election.