U.D.P. Chairman on Toledo East Loss: “We fought the hard fight.”

Finally, from our interview with U.D.P. Chairman Michael Peyrefitte, we asked him for his thoughts on the party’s embarrassing loss at the polls for the Toledo East by-election. Peyrefitte was on the ground, working, and says the U.D.P. fought a hard fight. He is predicting that the next general elections will yield much different results.

 

Michael Peyrefitte, Chairman, U.D.P. 

“I wouldn’t put it in a negative light like that. If you have the Toledo East constituency the entire government was down there to back their candidate in one constituency. You can tell that by the amount of Minister and government vehicles that were down there. I mean they should have beat us by ten to one with the efforts they put in. We did the best we could. We fought the hard fight and we have no regrets about that. We have to do what we can to put our case to the people. If we are not victorious we are not victorious. We go back to the drawing board and recoup. What will he the real test is when the general election come and Osmond Martinez is there by himself. I can tell you this, on election day John Briceño won’t be in Toledo East. You cannot look at what the Government does with full backing and resources against an opposition party. And maybe you know, maybe people decide if we vote for the U.D.P. in that by election there isn’t much they can do for us. That person won’t be a Minister. So maybe they believe if they election someone from the current party they will be able to get something. But the general could be very, very different and we expect it to be very different. I really don’t understand the over analysis of the U.D.P. From 2006 to 2018, twelve years the P.U.P. didn’t win an election, except for some seat in Orange Walk, from 2006 to 2018 and we are only less than one third of that time. Politics works in swings and with the pendulum. Right now, they have the momentum and they are winning at the polls but it’s not to wonder what is so wrong with the U.D.P. People sometimes vote for change and the U.D.P. only looks like some juggernauts because it’s their time.”