City votes for mayor and councilors
After all the hype of the General Elections in August, the Belize City Council campaign has been tame by comparison, and so seemed the voter turnout today. Although Citco elections never generate the same enthusiasm as a national election and the official voter turnout numbers are not yet out, polling today could best be described as “lethargic.” This despite the fact that it is the first time residents will be electing their mayor by direct vote. News Five cameras were roving on both the north and southsides of the Haulover today.
For most of the day, things were relatively quiet on the southside. The only visible action that could be seen was the hustling of the candidates, politicians and party supporters who were trying to get the electorate out to vote.
Lillette Barkley Waite, Councilor Candidate, P.U.P.
“Well, I think it is the status quo, it’s the norm generally: a lot of people don’t vote for City Council as they do for general so I was not expecting huge turnouts this morning. It’s been a steady stream and I am convinced that a lot of people are waiting for the afternoon when it’s a little cooler.”
Albert Robinson, Councilor Candidate, U.D.P.
“Well from ever since we have always had less voters for the City Council than the general elections, so it looks as it is going to be likewise.”
Raymond Cox, Councilor Candidate, P.U.P.
“Well things have been slow but constant. We are getting out to the people. We are making sure that our people are working the streets and at the end of the day, when the streets are complete, we will deliver.”
But according to Dean Barrow, Leader of the Opposition, while they did anticipate a low turnout, from what he could see attendance at the polls was far less than even the U.D.P. expected.
Dean Barrow, Leader of the Opposition, U.D.P.
“I think people are extremely cagey. What I notice at every polling station I have been, in the main, those who are coming out don’t stop at either table; they go straight into the polling station and do what they have to do.”
Among the twenty-two city council candidates, there are thirteen new faces for this election. But if the newcomers were feeling nervous they certainly appeared cool and collected.
Sydney Fuller, Councilor Candidate, U.D.P.
“I feel pretty good. I am just a new candidate. I have been in the division working for many years, so it is not something new to me but just a first time candidate.”
Dale Anthony, Councilor Candidate, U.D.P.
“I am very optimistic and we started a little shaky at the beginning as you said, it is our first time but we are still optimistic and the residents of the city will have their choice.”
Although it would be hours before the winners would be announced the candidates we spoke to today each had their own predictions about the outcome.
Merilyn Young, Councilor Candidate, P.U.P.
“It is a different feeling than the last election because it was basically a strike three campaign and we were looked at as guinea pigs to go in and make sure that the job gets done. We have reached our strike three and we are still being looked at as basically delivering home base. So it is a bit of pressure. I feel like going into this election, we are like putting on the final seal that we are in national government and we need to just finalize being back in central government in order for us to continue delivering.”
Anthony “Boots” Martinez, Mayoral Candidate, U.D.P.
“I think we will have a split council in my view. I hope that. I wanted it to be a full eleven but I believe it will be a split council. How ever it goes, I will be the first to say I will respect the opinions of the people, once more.”
Darrell Carter, Councilor Candidate, P.U.P.
“I am very optimistic. This is an investment in the future of the country and the P.U.P. team is the best investment that can be made today.”
But according to Dean Barrow, the Government has cause for concern. He says while he is not sure if the low voter turnout is a good thing for the U.D.P. in terms of winning the elections, in his view, so many people staying home is a clear rejection the P.U.P. government.
Dean Barrow
“For example if the government were to win the City Council with something like forty or forty add percent of the vote; that’s not much of a victory and in fact in my view it would mean that people are by staying home registering their protest. Clearly they don’t have any particularly encouraging reason to vote for the U.D.P. They know that if we control the City Council election, while we would try to do a good job at the city level, there’s not a great deal we can do to fundamentally change their lives. We have been making our pitch in terms of saying yes, we will do a good job with respect to streets and drains and so on and this is a good ticket and the Opposition deserves a chance so that we might keep democracy alive.”
The official numbers indicating voter turnout at the various constituencies will be released by the Elections and Boundaries Commission later on. The percentages cannot be directly compared, however, to previous Citco Elections since this year’s are based on the new voters list.
