Cal tops Chanona at P.U.P. Belmopan convention

The People’s United Party finally has a standard bearer for the Belmopan constituency. He is former Ambassador to Guatemala, Moises Cal. At a convention held on Sunday Cal convincingly defeated former mayor and current Senator Tony Chanona, four hundred fifty-four to three hundred thirty-eight. Cal, who received strong support from the local P.U.P. machinery, benefited from Chanona’s late entry into the race and what appeared to be the indecisiveness of his better known opponent, who had long been identified by the party hierarchy as its favourite son. Cal now faces an uphill battle against U.D.P. Cayo South incumbent John Saldivar, who has chosen to run in the newly created Belmopan constituency. The nomination of Cal now leaves only one division without a P.U.P. standard bearer. That is Belize Rural Central. We are officially informed that incumbent Ralph Fonseca has not yet made up his mind about running, while potential challengers Dolores Balderamos-Garcia and Dr. Cardo Martinez remain ready to go public as soon as Fonseca declares his intentions. According to P.U.P. secretary General Henry Charles Usher, there is no rush to set a date for the convention as the general elections will not be held until 2008.