Third and fourth parties say not to count them out
The Westminster system of government and its electoral format of “first past the post” inherently favors the development of a strong two party system. So if you want to be involved in politics and choose not to affiliate with one of the two, your choices of making a splash are somewhere between slim and none. It’s against this background that Belize’s lesser-known parties are trying to carve a niche for themselves in the tumultuous 1998 political scene. Today Patrick Jones spent some time with them on the campaign trail.
Despite their relatively slim chances of being successful at the August twenty seventh polls, the People’s Democratic Party and the National Alliance for Belizean Rights are hoping that by some combination of luck, skill and diligence, one of their candidates will pull off a huge upset. N.A.B.R.’s Emma Boiton says her party will field seven candidates, while the P.D.P. has already announced its slate of fourteen. When it comes to campaign issues, the two parties are worlds apart. N.A.B.R.’s campaign platform centers on Belizean rights while the P.D.P. is hinging its chances on fighting poverty.
Emma Boiton, Deputy Leader, N.A.B.R.
“Our main thing is about making a difference. We feel, because this is what we have gotten from people that people are tired about red and blue: one time red, one time blue, one time red, one time blue. The people want and need something else. What people want is other strong voices in the House and that is what we are offering to the people. Strong voices in the house who will be able to work with government and the opposition of the day to make a real difference so that things will not be thrown at people.”
Estevan Perera, Leader, P.D.P.
“The P.D.P. seh, no matter what they do, no matter what sort of manifesto any political party present to this nation, the only way to keep out poverty in this country is to bring in industries, to bring in factories. Without those things you’re gonna live the poverty until you die.
My chances in Belize Rural North is super. I am going to make them look… let’s put it this way, the amount of votes I get, both of them put together will not be able to defeat me in Belize Rural North because the people is fed up. They are fed up. There is no clinics in the areas, the police station don’t even have vehicles to maintain villages to villages. Some of my villages don’t have electricity. And you find that these people are fooling my Belize Rural North constituency again because they’re starting to put up lampposts as if they’re going to give you light. But they’re gimmick is to come back to you and say, “well we didn’t have time, give me another five years then I will make sure that you have electricity”. That gimmick will not work again.”
Noticeably absent from this year’s Albert Division race will be elder statesman Philip Goldson whose career in electoral politics ends on August twenty seventh. Still the ever optimistic, Miss Emma believes that for N.A.B.R., there is life after Philip.
Q: “Miss Emma, the absence of Mr. Goldson, the leader, the founder of N.A.B.R., his absence as a candidate in the 1998 election, will it impact your chances negatively?”
Emma Boiton
“We are discussing with the people of Albert. We are saying to them, we would like to place a candidate in Albert, are you, do you want this person to be your candidate? You see, we do not go on TV and say to the people of Albert, this is the Albert candidate. That is disrespect. We go to the people and that is why we have not yet announced, because we are actively going among the people having little, small meetings and saying meet this person, this is the person we want to place in Albert, do you want this person?”
Q: “The People’s United Party and the United Democratic Party, they have their solid basis. They know every election that they have a certain amount of people that will vote for them and every election the amount of undecideds keeps growing. How do you plan on tapping into that undecided population in order to get a change to go to Belmopan?”
Estevan Perera
“Those are the types that now, you have to sit down and try to persuade, showing them it is your vote that will make the difference because according to Patrick Jones the P.U.P. and the U.D.P. have their stanched supporters. If I cannot win you over now we will not make it. And that is where we as the new party comes in and must convince those people. Telling them for example like in the rural areas, “Are you satisfied with those other political parties? How do you survive in this area? Where do you work?” That’s where I come in and say see we don’t have no factories. This is what a new party has to start and make materialize: factories.
But what the P.U.P. and the U.D.P. have always been telling people, “There’s no chances for a third party in this country; don’t think about a third party; it’s only P.U.P. and U.D.P., man. Third party can’t make a difference.” Well that is what I am here for now. I’m going to prove to my people that a third party is the best alternative for this election. You cannot take your mind off it, it’s up to you. If you want to continue living in poverty, go P.U.P., go U.D.P. If you want good chances to bring back this economy, you want factories, vote the People’s Democratic Party.”
Emma Boiton
“We the Belizeans are the owners of Belize; we have the right to govern and we the Belizeans have the right to tell those who we place in government, how we want to be government. That is our main thing.”
Q: “You have a slate of fourteen candidates completely untested in national electoral politics, how can the Belizean people trust those fourteen people to run the affairs of this nation?”
Estevan Perera
“Patrick, running a government is easy. I grew up as a poor fellow, didn’t have a business in my entire life, didn’t know what business was all about. And when I left college I decided I want to open a business. I want to buy some property. I want to buy some house and lots. And at that time at the back of my mind I didn’t even know how I was going to do it but that was what I wanted. And as I grew up I opened a business and I represent six different companies abroad: I represent companies in England, I represent companies in America. And I am able to carry my business forward and it is a progressing business. This is working; I’m making money.”
P.J.
“But running a business is different from running a government.”
Estevan Perera
“That is true: business is a harder one than is the government. The government is easy. In a business, a man have to work to make a living. In government the money comes to you; you collect it from your people. So all you have to do is have commonsense; you don’t need no university degree.”
Instead they are both going to the polls like lambs among wolves. Perhaps the best they can hope for is that even if they are eaten, they may cause some indigestion on the way down. Patrick Jones for News Five.
In addition to the four political parties several candidates have declared they will run independently. The best known among them is Ismael Garcia, who intends to contest the seat in Cayo South.
