1 week ago
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Belmopan Mayor Pablo Cawich is preparing to seek a second term in office, with the People’s United Party expected to endorse him and five councillor candidates later this month for the March 2027 municipal elections. Cawich was first elected mayor in March 2024, when the PUP won every seat on the Belmopan City Council. He received 3,127 votes, defeating the UDP’s Jacklyn Burns, who received 2,240, a margin of 887 votes. His road to City Hall began with a contested PUP convention in October 2023. Cawich received 671 votes, defeating Tyriq Cano, who received 555. His entire slate also secured places on the PUP ticket. Asked over the weekend why Belmopan residents should give him another term, Cawich pointed to his work since taking office and what he described as his continued commitment to the capital.
Pablo Cawich, Mayor of Belmopan City: “Personally, it means a lot. My father, the Honourable Agripino Cawich, was recognized as one of the area representatives that contributed a lot towards the growth of the outskirts of Belmopan. So being one of his children and having the opportunity to serve the same city he served and to ensure that we can push the city to a new level that obviously makes me very proud and happy to have the opportunity to do this, which is why I am focused on trying to ensure that we can take the city of Belmopan to a global level, not just a regional level. In a very short two and a half years we’ve managed to improve or increase the asset base of the council. We are presently finalizing some systems that will introduce new revenues to the city. When you compare achievements in every factor you can combine councils and they haven’t achieved what we have in two and a half years.”
Cawich is not new to electoral politics. In 2003, following the death of his father, former Cayo South Area Representative Agripino Cawich, he won the PUP convention to contest the Cayo South by-election. He received 3,122 votes in that election but lost to the UDP’s John Saldivar by 110 votes. More than twenty years later, Cawich returned as a municipal candidate and led the PUP to its second consecutive victory in Belmopan. The mayor is expected to face a challenge from the UDP’s DJ Ritchie Galvez in 2027. Cawich was dismissive when asked about Galvez’s chances, arguing that his political experience and record in office make him the stronger candidate.
Pablo Cawich, Mayor of Belmopan City: “He doesn’t have any experience when it comes to running a city. It is not just about entertainment which is his specialty. And personally I believe that as everyone has rightfully said, his popularity lies outside of Belmopan. So it is in the Camalote area, Roaring Creek. Those are the people he brings to Belmopan for his events. So I see him not truly having a chance but that doesn’t stop the work that we have in our vision and that we have already embarked on. So we are prepared and we will continue working for the people of Belmopan.”
A survey published earlier this year placed Cawich’s approval rating at 42 percent, compared with 36.7 percent who disapproved and 21.3 percent who were undecided or did not give an answer.
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