Chanona finally decides to run in Belmopan

He’s been wrestling with the decision for what seems like years … but today Tony Chanona has finally thrown his hat in the electoral ring. The fifty-two year old former mayor of Belmopan, who did not seek re-election in March, submitted his name to the People’s United Party last Wednesday but the news was only made public today. Speaking to News 5 this afternoon he attributed his initial reluctance to financial considerations and the demands that would be placed on his family. A date has yet to be set for the convention in the newly created Belmopan constituency, but all indications are that the going will not be easy. The recently appointed P.U.P. senator is known to be the choice of Prime Minister Said Musa, with whom he shares two grandchildren, but much of the local party hierarchy is said to be leaning toward ambassador Moises Cal, who had previously announced his candidacy. And whoever emerges from that convention will face an uphill battle against U.D.P. incumbent John Saldivar, whose party is coming off two consecutive victories: one in the 2003 Cayo South by-election and the other in the March 2006 Belmopan City Council race. That Cayo South division, once the nation’s largest, was divided in the last redistricting exercise, with the city of Belmopan becoming a constituency in its own right.