Although none of these small political parties has ever won any significant number of seats or offices, their challenge has been growing over the years.
Constitutional safeguards include freedom of speech, press, worship, movement, and association.
As head of state, King Charles III is represented in Belize by a governor general who acts on the advice of the prime minister and the cabinet.
The National Assembly of Belize is a bicameral body which consists of a House of Representatives and a Senate.
The 31 members of the House of Representatives are popularly elected to a maximum five-year term of office.
Before 1984, the PUP had dominated the electoral scene for more than 30 years and was the party in power when Belize became independent on 21 September 1981.
In 2001 Belize joined with most members of CARICOM to campaign for the establishment of the Caribbean Court of Justice.
Michelle Arana has served as the acting chief justice of the Supreme Court since the retirement of Kenneth Benjamin on 20 March 2020.
Mayors and councillors are directly elected to three-year terms, using the first past the post system.
According to the Government of Belize website, "urban authorities are responsible for street maintenance and lighting, drains, refuse collection and public cemeteries.
In addition to presiding over local courts, alcaldes are responsible for managing communal land and act as school officers.
The BDF, currently under the command of Brigadier General David Jones, assumed total defence responsibility from British Forces Belize (BFB) on 1 January 1994.
However, other types of crime are becoming more commonplace, and the murder rate has increased, owing to unsolved gang-related issues and the presence of drugs on the streets.
They travel around the country and to remote areas on Chinese-made Meilun motorbikes that were donated to the BDF.
The United States is Belize's principal trading partner and major source of investment funds.