First Woman Opposition Leader Sworn-In

Tracy Taegar-Panton has just made history as the new Leader of the Opposition! She was officially sworn in today at the Belize House in Belmopan, becoming the first woman to ever hold this position in the House of Representatives. Just this Wednesday, she secured her third term as the Area Representative for the Albert division. Before the general election, there were efforts to have her replace Moses “Shyne” Barrow as the opposition leader, but she couldn’t gather enough support at that time. However, tonight is a different story—Panton now has the majority backing, and Barrow is out of the picture. Key figures like Godwin Haylock, Lee Mark Chang, Miguel Guerra, and Hugo Patt have all rallied behind Panton. Interestingly, Guerra, who ran under Barrow’s U.D.P., was present at her swearing-in today, and Patt has even written to the Governor General to declare his support. News Five was on the scene for the swearing-in ceremony, and we had the chance to chat with Panton about her exciting new role.

 

Tracy Taegar Panton, Leader of the Opposition

“It is a historic day for me and my family, but for all women and girls in this country who aspire for leadership. I am entirely grateful to all those who have supported me, particularly the people of the Albert constituency. I could not be here without them voting for me and supporting me for the last ten years.”

 

Reporter

“Did you ever envision this moment when you first joined politics?”

 

Tracy Taegar Panton

“Not at all. In fact, I never envisioned being in politics in my younger years. Being here is a natural progression in terms of my work in public life. I am humbled and extremely grateful for an opportunity to serve at this level of governance. I hope I will be able to have a positive impact, affect meaningful change in the national assembly that we can elevate the dialogue, elevate the debate, step away form personal attacks and really look at the issue people are facing in the country. I am here to serve and ready to lead.”