Above: Mayor Bernard Wagner, PUP; bottom left: Nelma Mortis, UDP; and bottom right: Estevan Perera, Sr., PDM
by Kristen Ku
BELIZE CITY, Wed. Feb. 21, 2024
Hundreds of Belizeans marched out today onto the streets of Belize City in support of their respective political party, as their municipal candidates were nominated.
The day began at 9:30 a.m., with the People’s United Party’s (PUP) parade, comprised of both candidates and supporters, gathering in front of the PUP headquarters on Queen Street, before setting off to the nomination center — ITVET compound on Freetown Road.
Painting the streets with their blue and white shirts, flags, and banners, the crowd saw numerous Ministers among its numbers, including Hon. Francis Fonseca, Hon. Henry Charles Usher, Hon. Kareem Musa, and Deputy Prime Minister, Hon. Cordel Hyde.
The party’s slate of 11 nominees included: mayoral candidate – Bernard Wagner; returning party delegates – Allan Pollard, Edmund Kwan, Stephannie Hamilton, Kaya Cattouse, and Javier Castellanos; and new candidates to the slate – Eluide Miller, Evan Thompson, Malcolm Nunez, Dorian Usher, and Sherwin Garcia.
In an interview with reporters, Wagner, now aiming for his third term in office, shared how it felt to be in this position once more.
“I might never want to say that to … you are overconfident. You always want to maintain humility throughout the whole process, and ensure that you do what you need to do as a team, as a party, as a machinery, and let the other chips fall in place,” he said.
Under his tenure, the council has experienced devastating flooding, hurricanes, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, he remains committed to continued development throughout the city, especially after receiving feedback during his campaign from different communities about drainage.
“I believe many of the councils in the past have never really looked at drainage. It’s not sexy, first of all; it’s not sexy. Cement streets and paved streets are sexy, but drainage is really not sexy … so that will be a huge priority for us going into our next year, if we are successful,” he said
“This [is] the first big election since the general elections. We are, of course, looking at this as a litmus test, so to speak; but definitely, the energy is there across the country, and you can feel the victory in the air, the spirit, the vibes, the love, everything is there; and the people are saying they want the People’s United Party again,” expressed Hon. Kareem Musa.
Although the accurate number of the turnout is unknown, what we do know is that there were at least 100 representatives of each constituency throughout the city, or perhaps a bit more than that.
“I tried to bring out only a hundred people, but I had to bring out 150, and you had some others who would join late in the parade, so I think about close to 200 people came out,” explained Allan Pollard of the PUP’s Queen Square constituency.
The People’s Democratic Movement (PDM) was the next party scheduled at midday to be nominated. The third party showed up with just a handful of supporters, and they did not hold a parade before arriving at the ITVET.
Their slate is comprised of mayoral candidate – Estevan Perera, Sr., and 10 council candidates including Mark Burgess, Alisha Marie “Mar” Eagan, Cornelio “Day” Galvez, Freeman Gongora, Wayne Michael Joseph, Garry Matus, Marcella Esther Meighan, Wilmore “Tab” Tablada, Zenobia “Zen” Young, and Karon Kieshayne Wright.
Their objective, which was announced last year through their manifesto, is to target the elderly and the poor, and really just give Belizeans a change from the red and blue parties.
“A lot of sentiments from the Belize people are that they’re tired of the Red and Blue, and it’s time they leave,” said Perera.
Given the history of failed third-party attempts to win seats in Belize’s elections, Perera is confident of their win this time around.
“History proves that; the past proves that; but this is not the past, this is the present. I am running for mayoral candidate against Bernard Wagner and the young lady from the UDP, and I think I am a far better candidate than both of them; and I believe that the people of Belize will give me my just due,” he said.
Notably, independent candidate, Ernesto Torres, running consistently since 2003, was also nominated as a mayoral candidate.
Wrapping up at 2:00 p.m., the red machine of the United Democratic Party (UDP) left their headquarters off Youth for the Future Drive, where their supporters, municipal candidates, standard bearers, and UDP Ministers joined in on the march to nomination.
Their full slate consisted of mayoral candidate – Nelma Mortis; and council candidates: Angelie Perez, Jason Staine, Victor Miguel, Horace Alford, Leon Guild, Alisha Craig, Brian Audinett, Tyrone Louriano, Samson Jacobs, and Tattiyanna Young.
The majority of the party arrived on the back of two parade floats, and the candidates were backed by 3 of the 4 sitting UDP area representatives – Hon. Shyne Barrow, Hon. Tracy Panton, and Hon. Patrick Faber, who all accompanied their colleagues into the nomination room.
“It was electrifying; very elated to see our people out there in numbers, and this is indicative of what will happen on Election Day. It is crystal clear, all throughout the length and breadth of this country, that the Belizean people in each municipality are completely exhausted and tired of the suffering and punishment that has been afflicted and inflicted by the People’s United Party,” Barrow said when asked about their turnout, although it was significantly less than the PUP.
Come Election Day on March 6, he predicts that all nine municipalities throughout the country will vote in the UDP, given the disconnect between the PUP and the Belizean people that they have seen.
“The people feel like the People’s United Party has no love for them. The relationship is not there, and so that was one of their major complaints,” said mayoral candidate Mortis. “I am hoping to change that kind of politicking, in the sense that we’re supposed to move towards development. This is for all of us; this is for Belizeans.”
Nomination Day also rang true in the 7 towns throughout the country and the one other city, the capital, Belmopan.
In Belmopan, the PUP parade was led by first-time mayoral candidate Pablo Cawich, while the UDP was led by standard bearer and former area rep, John Saldivar.
In the twin towns of Santa Elena and San Ignacio, the PUP was led by first-time mayoral candidate Matthew Preston, while the UDP was led by incumbent mayor Earl Trapp, now on his third time running. The independent mayoral candidate is Rudy Waight.
Benque Viejo Town saw PUP incumbent mayor, Jorge Rosales running for his second term; and first-time running, Marco Tesucum, the mayoral candidate leading the UDP.
In Corozal, first-time mayoral candidate, Ricardo Acke led the UDP; incumbent mayor, Rigo Vellos led the PUP; while an independent candidate, Hernan Riveroll, was nominated as a third party candidate.
Orange Walk, the Prime Minister’s hometown, saw incumbent mayor, Ladrick “Mad Bull” Sheppard heading the PUP, while the UDP was headed by first-time mayoral candidate, legendary footballer, Enrique Carballo.
Incumbent mayor, Robert Mariano represented the PUP down in Dangriga, while first-time mayoral candidate Alex Lucas represented the UDP.
In Punta Gorda, mayoral candidate Carlos Galvez represented the PUP, and Franklin Polonio represented the UDP. There were two independent mayoral candidates – Winston Chun and Orlando Muschamp. Leading the Belize Progressive Party was their mayoral candidate, Anita Nicholas.
San Pedro Town saw mayoral candidates, incumbent PUP mayor, Gualberto “Wally” Nuñez, and first-time mayoral candidate, Wilfredo Alamilla, Jr., leading the UDP.
In March 2021, the PUP won 65 council seats of the 67, and 8 of the 9 mayoral positions.
