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With municipal elections now about seven months away, Belize’s two major political parties are beginning to put together the teams they hope will lead the country’s nine towns and cities.
The People’s United Party appears to be further ahead in publicly rolling out its candidates. Four PUP slates are expected to be endorsed without a convention. Those are the teams for San Pedro, Belmopan, Dangriga and Orange Walk. Four other municipalities will hold contested conventions this month. Corozal goes first on August 9, followed by Punta Gorda on August 16, Benque Viejo del Carmen on August 23 and Belize City on August 30. That leaves San Ignacio and Santa Elena as the remaining question for the PUP. The twin towns have long been difficult territory for the party. Even as the PUP secured major victories nationally and captured most municipalities, it has repeatedly failed to take control of the San Ignacio and Santa Elena Town Council. The United Democratic Party, meanwhile, has already endorsed its team for the twin towns. That slate is being led by incumbent Mayor Earl Trapp, who will seek to retain one of the UDP’s most important remaining political strongholds. Outside San Ignacio and Santa Elena, the UDP has been less visible in promoting its municipal candidates. The party is rebuilding at a time when it is politically weaker than it has been in previous municipal cycles, but efforts to assemble slates are continuing. Love News understands that the UDP plans to hold a convention in Dangriga on August 9 to finalize its team for that municipality. The municipal campaign has not formally started, and both parties still have time to complete their slates. For the PUP, the goal will be to protect the municipalities it already controls while again trying to break the UDP’s hold on San Ignacio and Santa Elena. For the UDP, the elections will be an opportunity to defend its remaining base and show whether it can rebuild support in towns and cities where it has lost ground.
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