Shyne and Tracy will Face-off at Sunday’s Leadership Convention
All eyes will be on the U.D.P. this weekend as the better of two candidates will be chosen to marshal the party in a new direction, following Sunday’s leadership convention. The meeting of delegates will take place in Belize City on March twenty-seventh, several weeks after former party leader Patrick Faber demitted office amid another domestic violence scandal. While it was expected that a few more aspirants would have submitted their names to challenge the vacancy, Tracy Taegar-Panton and Shyne Barrow are the only two candidates contesting the seat. Ahead of the big day, News Five’s Isani Cayetano looks at both candidates and what they bring to the table should either of them be elected. Here’s that story.
Isani Cayetano, Reporting
The United Democratic Party is set to choose a new leader. On Sunday, delegates from all thirty-one constituencies will participate in a vote to select a successor for Patrick Faber whose tenure as head of the once powerful political organization ended in controversy. The leadership convention will see two candidates vying for the highest office; the outcome for either aspirant will be a first for the party. On one hand, a victory for Tracy Taegar-Panton symbolizes a seismic shift in the direction of the U.D.P., having elected its first female leader. On the other hand, success for Shyne Barrow solidifies an express ascent to the upper echelon of the party.
Shyne Barrow
Shyne Barrow, Area Representative, Mesopotamia [File: February 1st, 2022]
“I have the majority of support in the House of Representatives on the opposition benches. I have the majority of support within the thirty-one constituencies as we’ve seen with the massive endorsement from the Caucus for Change and we had fifty-three percent of the delegates that voted to recall in July 2021. As you can remember, I led that charge.”
His political opponent is the quintessential underdog. To hear Tracy Panton tell it, the odds have been stacked against her from the very beginning. Having lost her husband just a few weeks ago, the Albert Area Representative has decided to carry on in his honor.
Tracy Panton
Tracy Panton, Area Representative, Albert
“I am absolutely ready to take one the leadership of the United Democratic Party. I think it is important not just for the party, but for Belize. We need to have a stable, robust opposition so that we can hold the present government administration to account and we can also present a viable alternative for Belizeans in terms of good governance in this country. When I decided to offer myself as a candidate for the leadership position when the vacancy became available, I did so very thoughtfully, very prayerfully, and with the full support and the backing of my family. And so there is no reason, I think, for me to back down at this stage.”
Shyne has been busy on the international front promoting Belizean music on the world stage. Most recently, he was bestowed an honorary doctorate of Humane Letters from the University of Liberia. Since being sworn in for a second time as Leader of the Opposition, he has also been making his rounds, meeting with delegates across the country.
Shyne Barrow
“I have visited with them just as recently as the holidays and before that and I’ve stayed in touch with them. And so, they believed that we needed new leadership then and they believe that now and anyone that will come and present themselves as that alternative, that opportunity has already passed.”
Overcoming the hurdles that have been placed in her path would see Panton becoming the first woman party leader of the U.D.P. Despite her ambition, she is admittedly threading uncharted waters.
Tracy Panton
“I think it is unprecedented quite frankly and I think it would speak volumes about us as a society and us as a party in terms of really championing women in leadership, really looking at women in greater leadership roles, having a very clear seat at the decision-making table. But let’s be fair here, while that would be a tremendous achievement for Belize, I have put my name in the hat because I believe what I bring to the table is what the country needs at this time.”
Isani Cayetano for News Five.
