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A new opinion survey conducted in Belmopan is offering a snapshot of political sentiment within the constituency, measuring public approval of the city’s mayor, area representative, and the country’s prime minister. The poll, conducted by Dr. Phillip Castillo, shows mixed views among residents. According to the findings, forty-two percent of respondents approve of the job being done by Belmopan Mayor Sheran Cawich, while thirty-six-point seven percent disapprove. Just over twenty-one percent of those surveyed said they were unsure or declined to respond. Cawich was first elected in 2024, replacing former mayor Sheron Palacio. Residents credited his administration with expanding the city’s Night Market, supporting small businesses, and creating family-friendly public spaces. However, respondents also raised concerns about increases in trade license fees, the presence of homeless and mentally ill persons near the market area, and delays in the construction of a promised market facility in the Maya Mopan community. The poll shows significantly stronger approval for Belmopan’s area representative, Oscar Mira. According to the survey, sixty-seven-point five percent of respondents approve of Mira’s performance, while just over twelve percent disapprove and nearly twenty percent remain undecided. Mira first won the Belmopan seat in 2020, defeating former area representative John Saldivar, and secured re-election in 2025 with a larger margin. The survey describes Mira as the dominant political figure within the constituency. He is expected to face Khalid Belisle, a former mayor of Belmopan and current caretaker for the United Democratic Party, in the next general election. The survey also measured public sentiment toward John Briceño. The results show thirty-nine-point one percent of Belmopan residents approve of the Prime Minister’s performance, while twenty-four-point five percent disapprove and thirty-six-point four percent remain undecided. According to the accompanying analysis, the Prime Minister’s approval rating in Belmopan is slightly below forty percent but significantly higher than the twenty-one percent approval rating he received in Dangriga in Castillo’s earlier poll. Castillo explained that the survey was conducted using proportional random sampling across Belmopan’s four electoral areas. A total of three hundred and seventy-nine voters were interviewed, producing a margin of error of approximately plus or minus four-point nine seven percent at a ninety-five percent confidence level.
Castillo cautioned that constituency-level polling reflects public opinion at a specific moment in time and should not be interpreted as a national trend, but rather as a snapshot of political sentiment within a particular electorate./
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