Officials hold final meeting before nomination day
Almost three years ago, on March fifth, 2003, elections were held for local leaders in the nation’s seven towns and two cities. But with the more crucial national polling held on the same day, the municipal voting received little public notice. This time around it’s different, with the spotlight shining brightly on races from P.G. to Corozal, Benque to San Pedro. And while that may have the political parties stretched thin, with less than three weeks before balloting, the key players appear unruffled. Today the various electoral operatives gathered in Belize City for one last session with authorities.
Janelle Chanona, Reporting
On February fourteenth, Mahogany Street will be plastered with party colours as candidates for the March municipal elections parade to the Elections and Boundaries Department office to be officially nominated.
Today Chief Elections Officer Stuart Leslie and officials of the Belize Police Department met with candidates and political representatives from across the country for a final technical briefing. One of the hot topics on the table this morning was proxy voting.
Stuart Leslie, Chief Elections Officer
?The law doesn?t even allow for a student on study leave or let?s say a government officer sent away for two weeks for a seminar or something, they are not allowed the proxy … only foreign service officers who are posted in embassies and missions abroad, members of the B.D.F., members of the police force. The law is set out very clearly as to who can vote as a proxy, and in this case we are talking over a thousand.?
It was hard to miss the positive working relations between the staff of the Elections and Boundaries and the politicians. According to representatives of the country?s two major political parties, that relationship has made a big difference in preparations for the showdown in March.
Phillipa Griffith Bailey, Secretary General
?We are getting ready for nominations day. It?s going to be a grand affair for us and after nominations day we?ll have a big rally at the U.D.P. headquarters.?
Janelle Chanona
?Any message to your voters, to your candidates, to your people out there??
Phillipa Griffith Bailey
?Well I?ve already given my candidates and our people; we are campaigning out there vigorously. Things look excellent for us and we will win come March one.?
Mark Usher, Secretary General PUP
?We would like to tell the voters that the P.U.P. is still there for you, we are not a perfect party but we are still the best party for Belize. We are still the party that offers the best hope for the development of Belize, so don?t give up on the P.U.P., stick with the P.U.P. and come on out and support your party.?
That confidence appeared to be everywhere this morning as even the independent candidates are convinced that the political winds are blowing in their favour.
In the capital city, Vision Inspired by the People is offering an entire slate of candidates for election.
Hubert Enriquez, Candidate, VIP, Belmopan
?There?s the issue of corruption, government corruption, people are concerned about that. Issues of quality of life, issues governance getting people involved in the process, issues of accountability, transparency, those are the big issues that we are working on and people really want to see changes. People are tired of both political parties and want to see a new party take over.?
Herman Lewis is the campaign manager for former P.U.P. Mayor in Punta Gorda, Anthony Westby.
Herman Lewis, Campaign Mgr., Anthony Westby Independent, P.G.
?Well because he was not given the opportunity to go to a convention, a P.U.P. convention and he thought that he was being chiselled out and he decided to go independent.?
Janelle Chanona
?What is his major issue that he is pushing since he is the former Mayor??
Herman Lewis
?Well, at this point in time, he?s concentrating on better streets, more availability of himself to the people, and see if we can establish sister-city relations so as to bring more benefits for the town.?
And in Belize City and Corozal, a few familiar faces are back in the political ring.
Hipolito Bautista, Candidate, We the People, Corozal
?We took a while to get it together because we wanted the best people. We wanted who would subscribe to people over party, people over self, and we weren?t able to put it together until late last month. We think we have a good slate, we have a strong slate; in fact I?d want to think that we have the strongest slate of the three parties that are running in Corozal.?
Esteban Perera, Mayoral Candidate, NABR, Belize City
?If you run for a new party or even as an independent candidate, if you stop one year and don?t continue, people lose all interest and say, you?re just playing around, you?re not serious. So whether we get two votes, twenty votes, whatever, it doesn?t make a difference, you get keep on going. And in my last elections when I ran for mayoral candidate, I got over six hundred and odd votes. So I?m saying, this time I should get a thousand. And hopefully, who knows, maybe, it?s possible the people are tired of red and blue and might just make a change once and for all.?
The Elections and Boundaries Department announced today that the final master electoral list will be made available to the political parties on February fifteenth. Independent candidates will also receive the lists for their areas on the same day.
