Category: Politics

The United Democratic Party is fielding a team of seven candidates for Wednesday’s municipal elections. Career educator, Doctor Nelma Jones Mortis is leading the charge for the U.D.P. Eleven. They launched their manifesto several days ago and are now hoping that they can reclaim those municipal seats once held by their party. News Five’s Paul Lopez spoke with Mortis and her councilor candidates in this installment of Meet the Candidates.

 

Paul Lopez, Reporting

The United Democratic Party is seeking to end its two-term municipal drought in Belize City. After a longstanding reign in the Old Capital, Belize City residents opted for a People’s United Party municipal slate in the last two municipal elections. Well, Dr. Nelma Mortis, the United Democratic Party’s Mayoral Candidate, and UDP councilor candidates Angelie Perez and Samson Jacobs have placed their names on the ballot and are confident of victory at the polls.

 

Dr. Nelma Jones Mortis, U.D.P. Mayoral Candidate, Belize City

“I am a thirty years or over experience educator. I am also a researcher, a social activist and I am inspired for two various reasons. I am a person ho believe in service and that is the greatest effort you will get out of me, to serve the people. Additionally I am also trying to make, or at least give a better reflection to the younger woman than me to walk in political leadership where we are not well represented.”

 

Angelie Perez, U.D.P. Councilor Candidate, Belize City

“I am a paralegal and I decided to put my name on the ballot for two reasons, I want to be able to see more young people being represented and as well as women, because I believe we have a voice and in order for my voice and the voice of the young people to be heard there must be representations.”

 

 

Samson Jacobs, U.D.P. Councilor Candidate, Belize City

“I am a teacher at Edward P Yorke High School. I started off at Sadie Vernon Technical High School but prior to that my first place of employment was Hand in Hand Ministries where I use to work with persons who were infected and affected with HIV and aids. I am social workers by degree but I am also a trained teacher and I have a certificate in grant proposal writing and project management.”

 

 

Mortis and her team launched their manifesto last Thursday. The document has three key areas of focus, environment, economy and equity. She says most of the residents she spoke with on the campaign trail were more concerned about national issues as opposed to municipal challenges. She added that issues of food and citizen security are on top of the list of those concerns.

 

 

Nelma Jones Mortis

“One of the greatest thing that comes out from the people on the ground is more of national issues and I know I do have to do a lot of work in helping out people to understand the importance of local government. At this point there is not really much thing to say about the local government as much as there is thing to say about national government. And, that has to do with the nexus for food and security. People have to eat, people are hungry. People want to feel secure. Their lives and I have to say this, recently there have been a lot of electioneering where the streets are being fixed and close to election or upon election and that symbolize that us as politicians we are hinging people’s livelihood and quality for life to an election and it should not be that way.”

 

Mortis noted that the business community in Belize City already raised a number of concerns to her team that they plan to address if elected on Wednesday.

 

Nelma Jones Mortis

“Parking is a major issue for them, especially on Albert Street and Regent Street. So we have to create a vision for that. Either we do parking that goes up or we cut off a certain are just for parking, that is something that has to be assessed. Two, they speak a lot to the trade license, which is seems there is not equity across the board when it comes to that. Now that is beyond the Belize City Council’s purview, however again, collaboration as the mayor of this city that is where my leadership comes in having to bring this central government to point the way forward.”

 

And councilor candidate, Angelie Perez, says if young people are questioning what impact a youth can make through politics, she has a message for them.

 

Angelie Perez

“I think the kind of impact a young person can make, if we shy away from these roles we will never be heard. So we must step up. WE must embrace these leadership roles in order for our voices to be heard. When I decided to put my name on a ballot and told people, one of the questions people asked is if I was ready because politics is a very dirty game and I am very grateful to the good lord that this time it hasn’t been like that and my mayor also doesn’t believe in negative campaigning.”

 

Councilor candidate Samson Jacobs also voiced several concerns he heard from residents that he believes his team would be able to effectively address.

 

Samson Jacobs

“I remember on the campaign trail we were back in Gungulung area and some business owners were complaining about the drainage and the street. One of them actually said when they come to purchase in the store they could not enter because the water the cover the bridge to get in. I believe the same way they consider the north side people to pay their taxes and they get their services, the same needs to be done on the south side and that is where the equity comes in.”

 

Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.

This afternoon, the United Democratic Party held a press conference at its headquarters here in Belize City.  During the session with the media, Party Leader Shyne Barrow began by criticizing the Briceño administration for promises it has failed to deliver since taking office in 2020.

 

Shyne Barrow, Leader of the Opposition

“We approach the time of the most sacred exercise in our democracy which is tomorrow, March sixth, the dawn of change for the better, because yoh got two kinda change, the PUP change and then the UDP change, for the better is upon us.  You know, for the last three, and six in some instances, even twelve consecutive years if you look at Orange Walk Town, who have had four consecutive terms of doing nothing.  First they complained about not having a central government that was PUP and now that they have a central government that is PUP, with none other than the prime minister and four other representatives, I believe, being from Orange Walk, they have done nothing for the people of Orange Walk Town.  We have just been subjected to broken promises, mismanagement, misappropriation of funds and rampant corruption by the PUP local government.  The promise of synergy has never arrived.  The optimal benefits that were declared to be looming once you had a PUP central government and a PUP local has turned out to be a marriage of complete disaster.  We have suffered, the Belizean people have suffered from this dysfunctional, extremely dysfunctional relationship.”

Also present at the presser this afternoon was Collet Area Representative Patrick Faber.  Of note is that U.D.P. mayoral candidate Doctor Nelma Jones Mortis hails from that constituency.  Faber began by acknowledging his twenty-first year as a parliamentarian before speaking about Collet and the campaign trail.

 

Patrick Faber, Area Representative, Collet

“Today, March fifth, makes twenty-one years that I’ve been in the House of Representatives and, of course, under my watch we have never lost the Collet constituency at no level, municipal or general.  And, of course, tomorrow, I can assure you, party leader, will be no different.  I can assure the country that we will bring victory once again in Collet, but I want to say as well because of my work with the team, I am confident also of a victory citywide.  We might not win all constituencies, but cumulatively we will definitely make what it takes to deliver City Hall to the UDP once again.  I sit at this table today to have people understand that as we move into the elections tomorrow, we are one united force.  The UDP has a record of division, as many would know, and it also has a record of coming together when the country needs us and it is no doubt that if the country ever needed us, that time is now.  And so, we have put differences aside in order to make sure that tomorrow we will enter those elections one unified front and bring victory in all nine of our municipalities across the country.”

As far as tomorrow’s municipal elections, Faber says he is optimistic that the United Democratic Party will make inroads across various cities and towns, ahead of a victory at the polls during the 2025 general elections.

 

Patrick Faber, Area Representative, Collet

“I have had the opportunity to visit with some of the teams across the country.  I’ve not gone north but I’ve certainly been south and west and I feel as optimistic as I do about the Belize City team with those teams as well.  I feel that we have, in those areas as well, excellent slates and I am looking forward to an early count.  I think that the fact that they are counting boxes simultaneously should produce an early result in most of these elections and it’s not going to be, hopefully, like those years gone by where dawn is breaking and we still don’t know who is the winner in some of these municipalities.  I think it will be early tomorrow and I look forward to celebrating with my UDP colleagues that victory and to mark the improvement, if you will, but the steps forward in bringing back the United Democratic Party to the government, the national government of Belize.  I hope that the results tomorrow will be an impetus for Prime Minister Briceño to call the elections.”

Tonight on Meet the Candidates, we hit the streets with the People’s Democratic Movement, a third party led by Estevan Perera Senior. They are contesting the seats at City Hall and are hoping to form the next Belize City Council.  In tonight’s episode, we will introduce you to several of the candidates who share their reasons for joining the political fray.  Here’s News Five’s Isani Cayetano.

 

Isani Cayetano, Reporting

The viability of a third-party option in today’s political landscape is one that the masses of Belizean voters are yet to fully grasp.  Traditionally, most of the ballots cast on election day are in favor of the established mass parties.  Independents and third party candidates are often seen as nothing more than nominees whose votes take away from either of the two recognized political organizations, in this case, the People’s United Party and the United Democratic Party.

 

Estevan Perera Sr., Mayoral Candidate, P.D.M.

“The time is ripe.  It is not me who’s going to win this election, it is the people of Belize that will win this election because they are fed up, they are tired and they want something new.  They want changes and the only changes [that] will come is with the People’s Democratic Movement.”

 

 

Estevan Perera Sr. is not a newcomer to electoral politics.  In fact, he has run on previous occasions and those bids were unsuccessful.  This time, however, he has assembled a team of councilor candidates that is supporting his bid for City Hall.  Together, they are the People’s Democratic Movement.

 

 

Marcela Meighan, Councilor Candidate, P.D.M.

“Being a part of PDM is simply because with my identity, I want to be able to bring that to Belizeans as well.  Know who you are, know what you stand for so that at the beginning of the day and at the ending of the day you are confident with the things that you have done with the choices that you have made.”

 

 

PDM boasts three female candidates. Alisha Eaghan is twenty-one years old and this is her foray into politics at the municipal level.

 

Alisha Eaghan, Councilor Candidate, P.D.M.

“As a young person, all of us want change and I want a change too.  I just want all of us to come together, it doesn’t matter what age you are, we all have the same basic needs and the same wants too, so that’s why I decided to join PDM.”

 

 

 

Isani Cayetano

“How prepared are you that once you are elected on March sixth that you hit the ground running, in terms of getting the work done?”

 

Alisha Eaghan

“I am very prepared.  I am very prepared.  I am willing to, you know, do what it takes and also, I am taking this head-on, I come with all the power I’ve got, so there is nothing no one can do or say that will change my attitude or our attitude as a movement for our country Belize.”

 

 

Third parties often focus on specific issues that may not receive adequate attention from the major parties.  By championing niche causes, they bring these topics to the forefront of public discourse.

 

George Myvett, Political Advisor, P.D.M.

“My reason for stepping to the fore, in terms of the PDM, is that I feel that the time has come for change.  The both of the, quote-unquote, mass parties have been playing musical chairs both at the municipal level, as well as at the national level and it has not been well for the citizens of Belize City and certainly not the country, and you can measure it any way.  You can measure it in terms of crime, you could measure it in terms of poverty, you can measure it in terms of literacy.  All the indicators are there.”

 

And the PDM is looking closely at those pointers with a view to address the root causes from a social perspective.  As a movement, it seeks to give a voice to the marginalized communities and advocate for their rights.

 

Zenobia Young, Councilor Candidate

“We all are taxpayers, so they are saying [that] we need to stop the wasteful spending of taxpayers money.  So, as a result of that, if we are elected on March sixth, thirty days after that, post election, thirty to ninety days, I’d say, we are going to work on releasing an audit report to the public so that we can include the citizenry in what we’re doing.”

 

 

Wayne Joseph, Councilor Candidate

“I’ve been on the ground working and campaigning and I’ve interacted with a lot of folks and if the Belizean people, they vote like how they talk, we shouldn’t have a problem.  We should be…easy victory for us because a lot of people, a lot of Belizeans are fed up with both parties.  They are fed up and they want a change and the People’s Democratic Movement is here for that.”

 

Isani Cayetano for News Five.

The People’s United Party’s municipal slate today released its 2024-2027 Manifesto at the Swift Hall in Belize City. The document titled “Stay Pan Track” encapsulates how a new P.U.P. Belize City Council slate will address the needs and concerns of over seventy thousand residents of the ten zones in Belize City, if it is re-elected to office on Wednesday. While the party’s detractors have used the late launch to suggest that the P.U.P. does not have a solid plan, today the former mayor and his former deputy, Allan Pollard Junior, clarified that he and his team had to first go and meet with the residents to come up with the priority areas that they need to address. News Five’s Marion Ali was present for the launch and filed this report.

Marion Ali, Reporting
The launch of the P.U.P.’s manifesto comes a mere two days before Wednesday’s municipal elections. In presenting the document, former Deputy Mayor, Allan Pollard, Jr., explained that the candidates had to meet with the residents first. He shared a few of those demands from the residents.

Allan Pollard, Councilor Candidate, P.U.P.

“It is only when the people are being real is when we understand their position and their needs. And it is only when we are being real with them and real with ourselves that we can deliver for them. So, yes, we did a lot of streets, but we need more drains. Yes, we have the downtown super sale on Saturdays, but weh wi wa do pahn Sunday? And yes, Minister, Gungulung look like “States” (applause) but the people want know when wi wa reach Pen Road Extension, and Krooman. (Chuckles…inaudible response) Definitely, thanks, PM. And we love the Berger Field (applause) but we want one back ya da Lake-I and Mr Usher, wi want one fi Jane Usher [Boulevard] as well. Yes, we had six cohorts of the B-CAP program that assisted many small businesses, and had owners with start-up capital, but we are ready, Mayor, for cohort seven, eight, nine, ten. We are listening, people, and we heard you loud and clear. This document is proof of that.”

 

In the manifesto, the P.U.P. Municipal slate proposes to replace the Belize City Swing Bridge and the Belcan Bridge, rehabilitate two hundred more streets, maintain and shape a hundred and fifty miles of drains throughout the city, and work with the Belize Tourism Board to promote a cleaner city. Former Mayor, Bernard Wagner, who is making his third bid for that post, agreed that although it is one municipality, there are different needs coming out of the ten areas of Belize City.

 

 

Bernard Wagner, Mayoral Candidate, P.U.P.

“How wi could bring out wa manifesto weh could represent the people before wi meet the people. Ih can’t happen that way. Wi had to ensure that this document weh seh “Stay Pahn Track really reflect what the people want in the city. The people – da wa fliud situation. The needs of the people are diverse. The needs of residents living in the Collet or the Port Loyola areas are different from the needs of people living in a Freetown or living in a Caribbean Shores constituency, soh all ah this da wa mix and as we traversed, we understood the mix and we understood the needs and we understood that listen, everybody has needs, but some needs are different. So we ensured that we captured all of those needs within the scope of our “Stay Pan Track” manifesto.”

 

Prime Minister, John Briceño, who was present for the occasion, told the gathering that a manifesto that is for the people should reflect what the people need.

Prime Minister John Briceño
“A city is more than just streets and drains and picking up the garbage. A city is where you can make a vibrant community, where you feel happy, where you can feel safe, where you can create opportunities, that you can say I am a proud resident of Belize City. We have to continue the work, we have to stay pahn track to continue the development of Belize City. We have to stay pahn track if we will get the bridges done, and fix the streets, and the drains and the parks, and help young people.”

 

The candidates all attached their signatures to the manifesto during the presentation of the document today. Belize City, which forms one of the nine municipalities that will hold elections on Wednesday, has eleven of the sixty-seven seats countrywide. Marion Ali for News Five.

The political climate in San Ignacio and Santa Elena makes for an interesting one all because for the past three years, the Mayor and one of the councillors were U.D.P., while the remainder of the councillors were P.U.P. While that equation brought on its own challenges due to continued internal bickering among councillors and a mayor that did not see eye-to-eye, history has shown that most times, city or town halls that hail from the opposing side have even more challenges when they have to work with a different government. Today, the P.U.P.’s Mayoral candidate for Belize City, Bernard Wagner agreed that having political alignment makes the work easier and that much more can be accomplished, and that the team that he has is one that is formidable with a positive energy.

 

Bernard Wagner, Mayoral Candidate, P.U.P

“The main thing there is about ensuring that you have a national and a sub-national government working in tandem. That’s what development occurs when you have synchronicity and you have the same energies and you have the sub-national and the national being at the same political persuasion. That’s how development occurs in any modern city. Clearly, the pandemic was always an issue with us getting on track because that really took away from all our resources. I know that has been getting back to where it normally is. And we are confident that we are able to work in tandem with national government to drive development for the city.”

 

Reporter

“Mayor, specifically on drainage, what is the commitment if you win again?

 

Bernard Wagner

“Getting back to the basics -drainage. We have done a lot of streets, and drainage is always not sexy, but we want to ensure that we get back to the basics: chopping the grass, digging the drains, ensuring the streets are maintained, the parks are maintained, but never forgetting that we have 730 streets in the city, and some of those still need the occasional repairs. I believe that this team really, have a better type of energy, positive energy, always important in any team. You can’t say what will happen in the future, but you’ll, manage it.”

One of the questions posed to Wagner had to do with the source of campaign financing. The former mayor said that financing for their campaign is not an issue that he is responsible for or tasked to come up with. In fact, Wagner indicated that it is his party’s national entity that is tasked with coming up with the funds for their campaign. And as for the coverage of the campaign, Wagner said that while he could not walk the city’s over seven hundred streets to reach every household, they’ve covered quite a lot by splitting up in groups.

 

Bernard Wagner, Mayoral Candidate, P.U.P.

“I just do my campaign. That is essentially what I do. I can’t worry about funding, who fund the ads – that is from a national perspective. So I don’t get involved with that. I make sure my energy is focused on the campaign.”

 

Reporter

Have you reached all divisions now?

 

Bernard Wagner

“I’ve went to all divisions, I may not have went on all streets. That’s very tough – 700 plus streets but I’ve covered a lot of ground and by splitting up the teams we have been able to maximize our efforts.”