The battle over who will succeed Said Musa as leader of the Peoples’ United Party is heating up as the prospective candidates engage in exploratory talks with each other and with key party officials. Early favourite Francis Fonseca enjoys the support of the party hierarchy and can presumably count on whatever post election financial reserves […]
Like every other municipal body in Belize, the Belize City Council is made up of elected representatives of the United Democratic Party. Following the party’s landslide victory in last week’s general elections, today Mayor Moya, who is also President of the Belize Mayors Association, told us that with the U.D.P. in central government, conditions in […]
On election day and night, radio and TV correspondents for our Channel Five/Love FM joint coverage fanned out nationwide in search of facts and figures. Unfortunately, with thirty-one constituencies reporting in rapid succession, not all the video reports made it to air. Here’s an interesting filing, from Patrick Jones, who took a look at one […]
We have not heard much from the Peoples’ United Party since last Friday when P.U.P. leader Said Musa faced the press at the Princess Hotel. Today most of the thirty-one standard bearers and party officials met at their Queen Street headquarters to take stock and prepare for the role reversal which has placed them in […]
One issue that is certainly not dead is the question of an elected Senate. While political expediency may have placed it on the ballot, the array of activists who have long championed the reform are unlikely to let it fade away. Janelle Chanona has an update. Said Musa, Former Prime Minister, January 7th 2008 “The […]
Yesterday their names were announced; today they were sworn in. News Five’s Janelle Chanona reports from Belmopan as the transition to a new government continues. Janelle Chanona, Reporting There was standing room only in the main hall of Belize House as the new United Democratic Party administration was officially sworn in by Governor General Sir […]
And in yet another correction to the supposedly final figures from the Elections and Boundaries Department, we reported last night that the politician who amassed the largest majority in his constituency was Prime Minister Dean Barrow with seventy-six point one percent of the vote. In fact the honour belongs to Mesopotamia representative Michael Finnegan who […]
It is the body essentially responsible for running the country … and today Prime Minister Dean Barrow announced the composition of his sixteen man Cabinet. As expected, due to the large size of his party’s majority, every minister comes from the House of Representatives and none from the Senate. With a relatively untested field of […]
A cabinet meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday afternoon in Belmopan. But some of the Ministers designate are more prepared than others. One of them is Patrick Faber, as his Ministry of Education portfolio had been promised to him well in advance of the elections. Patrick Faber, Minister of Education “Certainly I want to get […]
And in an additional note on the election, while the balloting went smoothly, the official results have been a long time coming. The statistics issued last week have been revised several times and it was only this afternoon that the Chief Elections Officer issued the final tally. Those numbers show that nationwide, the United Democratic […]
Call it a landslide, a hurricane, or even better—a tsunami. Whatever you call it the red wave that washed over Belize on Thursday was among the most lopsided electoral routes in modern Belizean history. Reversing a 22-7 deficit in the House of Representatives, Dean Barrow and the U.D.P. won twenty-five of thirty-one seats and in […]
The road to national leadership has been a long one for Prime Minister Barrow. When it became clear late Thursday night that his party had finally achieved victory he told News Five’s election analysts that his promise of honest government will be kept. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister “I certainly am determined that above all we […]
For P.U.P. leader Said Musa, it was his party’s first defeat since taking over as leader in 1996. This morning at a press conference the former Prime Minister offered appropriate congratulations and thanks … and made it clear that his party knows how to rebound. Said Musa, P.U.P. Leader “I would like to first of […]
Following his statements Musa took questions, including one asking him to be more specific about his plans for the future. Ruling out any immediate resignation as leader, he said that he plans to consult closely with his party. Said Musa, P.U.P. Leader “Well, I’ve already indicated to various members of the party that particularly my […]
Perhaps the biggest upset in yesterday’s elections was the stunning win by U.D.P. newcomer Michael Hutchinson over P.U.P. legend Ralph Fonseca in Belize Rural Central. Hutchinson, a cabinet maker by profession, told us he entered politics at the village level two years ago with encouragement from veteran politician, Louis Sylvestre. He explained to News Five’s […]
If the numbers came in too late last night for you to accurately do the math, what follows is the list of results from the thirty-one constituencies. All but a handful are official, as some races have not yet been blessed by the Chief Elections Officer. Kendra Griffith, Reporting In his Queen’s Square constituency, U.D.P. […]
Obviously the Peoples’ United Party was the big loser in Thursday’s election but the P.U.P. was not the only casualty. It could be argued that the victim of the most lethal blow was Belize’s fledging third party movement. Not one of the thirty-one non traditional candidates, whether V.I.P., N.R.P., N.B.A. or independent, managed to win […]
In just about twenty-four hours the vast majority of Belize’s one hundred and fifty-seven thousand registered voters will begin to make their way to the nation’s one hundred and forty polling stations. And while the parties and candidates say they’re ready, there is a bit less certainty about the preparedness of the non partisan machinery […]
On Tuesday’s newscast we spoke on the phone with head of the Commonwealth Expert team, K.D. Knight. This morning our colleagues from the Caribbean Media Corporation met with Knight in San Ignacio to hear his final thoughts on the election process before voting begins tomorrow. K.D. Knight, Head, Commonwealth Observer Team “If the arrangements that […]
On Monday night right after this newscast we ran an in depth interview with U.D.P. leader Dean Barrow. Excerpts from that interview were also shown on last night’s news. Tonight, with regard to the P.U.P., we reverse the process, showing a few minutes of clips from an interview with Said Musa with the full length […]
She has spent the last month traveling the length and breadth of Belize speaking to the candidates … and tonight, on election eve, Ann-Marie Williams presents the final two profiles in her campaign series. The first finds her in Belize Rural Central where one of the P.U.P.’s biggest and most controversial names is again challenged […]
Belize Rural Central and Corozal Bay may be separated by sixty or so miles of Northern Highway but their political pedigrees are similar. This year, however, the incumbent faces his biggest challenge in twenty years. Ann-Marie Williams, Reporting This is the establishment candidate making a case for experience. Vildo Marin, P.U.P. Candidate, Corozal Bay “The […]
A team of three experts from the Commonwealth are in Belize to observe the February seventh General Elections. The team, led by Former Jamaican Foreign Minister, K. D. Knight, includes former Provincial Chief Electoral Officer, Bob Patterson of British Columbia, Canada and Dr. Nemata Eshun-Baiden from Sierra Leone. They are supported by three Commonwealth Secretariat […]
The Police Department is reminding voters and party activists of the rules regarding guns and liquor on election day. In a press release they state that it is illegal to even carry a firearm or ammunition within one hundred yards of any polling or counting station. This prohibition extends from the time the polls open—seven […]
In a wide ranging interview aired last night following our newscast, U.D.P. leader Dean Barrow put fourth his personal and his party’s position on a number of issues facing the nation … issues that have not necessarily received much attention in the media or campaign propaganda. For those viewers who may have missed the full […]
