Francis Fonseca endorsed for P.U.P. Freetown seat
Fonseca for Freetown…that’s the latest cry out of the P.U.P. political camp. Francis Fonseca that is. The thirty-three year old Secretary General of the People’s United Party has confirmed that at a national executive meeting on Thursday he got the nod as the new the face in Freetown, replacing area representative Jorge Espat, who chose not to run for re-election. Fonseca told News 5 this afternoon that despite his many years working in the background, he is ready for the spotlight of a political campaign.
Francis Fonseca, PUP Candidate, Freetown
“I thought it was a unique opportunity for me to get involved in the electoral level, which is something I’ve always wanted to do. So it was an opening for me, and after discussing it with friends and family and discussing it with people in the party, I grasped the opportunity and I sought the support of the leadership of the party and my other colleagues. And I am happy to say that the support has been overwhelming thus the reason for me saying that I want to contest the elections in Freetown for the People’s United Party.”
Janelle Chanona
“Now some political pundits might look at the delay between Mr. Espat’s resignation and your recent announcement as saying there was some reluctance for anyone to take that seat. Was that the case?”
Francis Fonseca
“No, no, there wasn’t any reluctance, but we wanted to have an open discussion within the party and to make sure we were making the right decisions. For me, I must say it wasn’t an easy decision because as I said, I had just taken on this role as Secretary General of the party, which for us is a very important role. Because the secretary general is responsible for the whole campaign in terms of getting the structure and the machinery in place ready for the elections next year.”
Janelle Chanona
“Entering the race somewhat later than others, how do you plan to endear yourself to the voters in Freetown?”
Francis Fonseca
“Any campaign that you run has to be well organized, it has to be strategic campaign. As you said, we have a few months to go before the elections next year, so obviously I will have to work very quickly and very tirelessly to get to meet the voters in Freetown. I’ve already started to talk to some of them. I know their concerns, and having been involved in the national campaign, I’m aware of the concerns of Belize City residents in general. And I’ve also spoken to people on the executive, the Freetown Executive to hear from them what are the concerns of the people in Freetown. So, obviously, I will have to come up with a plan very quickly with a plan for Freetown and I will have to take that and travel, go house to house to house in Freetown, talking the voters about my vision.”
One house Fonseca says he won’t have to campaign in is that of incumbent area representative Jorge Espat. According to the new aspirant, Espat has already pledged his support to his efforts in the Freetown Division.
Francis Fonseca
“He and I will meet on Monday to discuss other matters, but he has indicated to me that he is prepared to support my candidacy in Freetown and also to assist me in terms of getting his committee to give their support to my campaign. And I look forward to that support because Jorge has been a good area representative for Freetown and he’s been a very effective and efficient member of the People’s United Party. He’s always been a man of principle and I respect him for that. So I look forward to his support.”
We could not get any confirmation on the names of other candidates, if any, for the P.U.P. Freetown nomination. The U.D.P. standard bearer is Douglas Singh.
