Tracy is Prepared to Work with the Leadership of the U.D.P.

Tracy Panton

The United Democratic Party has been in free-fall for the past two years and has seen a number of changes in its leadership in a fairly short interval.  It doesn’t bode well for the unity of the party as the opposition.  But a concerted effort led by Party Leader Shyne Barrow to bring together the elected members of the U.D.P. for the purpose of putting up a unified front in parliament, is the latest attempt at reuniting the deeply fractured organization.  This afternoon, we asked Albert Area Rep Tracy Panton about her role in making the U.D.P. whole again.

Tracy Panton, Albert Area Representative

“It’s no secret, right, the United Democratic Party has been through a very difficult time, several transitions in a very short period of time.  Indeed, the party leader has reached out to both, Honorable Patrick Faber and myself for an opportunity for us to sit down to determine a way forward in terms of uniting the United Democratic Party.  I think it’s an imperative if we want to defend the democracy and we want to rebuild the confidence and trust of the Belizean people.  So I am very open to the discussions.  I have always maintained a more principled approach that the constitution of the United Democratic Party is sacred and the constitution must be respected and the constitution must be adhered to.  I’m not saying that there’s no room for improvement to the constitution or updating of the constitution.  There may be elements that need to be revisited to consider the present day reality, but in the absence of us going through a formal review of the UDP constitution, we must adhere to the one that we have.  And so, I am hoping that these discussions will take that into consideration, a respect for the decision-making organs of the party, a respect for the constitution of the party and a serious attempt for all parties to sit down to do a serious assessment of what transpired to have us here and what are the strategic things we need to do to become not only a viable opposition but the next Government of Belize.”