UDP Set to Endorse Tracy Panton as Party Leader at Sunday Convention

Tracy Panton is set to be endorsed as the Leader of the United Democratic Party (UDP) Sunday, November 30.  The UDP is holding its leadership convention at the Bird’s Isle in Belize City.  Hugo Patt is set to serve as the 1st Deputy Leader, while Miguel Guerra is poised to take up the role of 2nd Deputy Leader. The race for Chairman initially attracted four candidates, Delroy Cutkelvin, Sheena Pitts, Roosevelt Blades, and John Saldivar. However, Delroy Cutkelvin withdrew his candidacy and announced his endorsement of Roosevelt Blades, strengthening Blades’ standing heading into the convention. For the post of Vice Chairman, Abdel Cowo and Ivan Williams remain the two contenders.  Acting Chairman of the UDP, Alberto August, told Love News that the agenda for this weekend has been confirmed including a special guest speaker.  

Alberto August, UDP Ag Chairman: “We’re looking at the convention that will begin at 9 in the morning on Sunday the 30th of November. We begin with the registration of the delegates. We know the delegates have already been registered prior to this but it’s just for the confirmation of the quorum to ensure that we have enough delegates, registered delegates in attendance for the meeting to proceed. So it begins at 9. We’ll run that for an hour, 9 to 10, and once we have established that there’s a quorum, then the meeting proper begins. The meeting is going to commence. Just like when you have the opening of the polls at seven o’clock on election morning, the meeting will begin at 10 a.m. 10 a.m. pronto. We have a tight, pack scheduled. We have a guest speaker. We have invited a guest speaker to come in and address the gathering and then we have six set of motion. The first motion is to amend the constitution. That motion is being presented by the Western caucus to amend the constitution to expand the delegate base of the party. You know right now we’re are at 16 delegates, 5 alternate, 21 delegates per constituency. There is a recommendation to amend the constitution to expand that and there are certain criteria that will be put in place to see if that could pass as an amendment to the constitution. And then we have five other motions that will be presented but they’re not amendments to the Constitution. They are just policies that will be put to the floor for approval. One is on women, youth, economic development, for the establishment of a committee to review the Constitution of the party and to make recommendations for amendments. Lady Kathy Esquivel has gracefully agreed to address the gathering as a guest speaker. So of course we are looking forward to that. We will be having a departure speech of course from the outgoing leader of our party, the honorable Dr. Shyne Barrow. And then afterwards we’re going to the voting.”

This weekend’s event will see the participation of up to 521 delegates who will begin voting at eleven thirty across three polling stations.  August says the final count for the posts of Chairman and Vice Chairman should be tallied by 6pm.

Alberto August, UDP Ag Chairman: “There are 521 voting delegates of the party on this occasion. Overall, there is 669 accredited voters at the National Convention. But of those 669, 148 are alternate delegates. And then the other 521 will be voting at the convention. So basically, if 100% of the delegates show up, then we are going to have, we will be counting 521 votes. But of course, you know, like for example, there are 16 members of the Central Executive Committee and nine members of the National Convention for whom there are no alternates. So if they don’t show up, then nobody can vote for them. It is only in terms of the constituency delegates where we have five substitute for those. We are planning on opening three stations to facilitate and to speed up the process. Because we understand the concern of some of the standard bearers. We want to wrap it up as soon as possible. Whenever it has been determined that no other person will come out to vote, then we’re going to close the polls. We are saying that we are not going beyond 3:30. 3:30 the polls will close, you come or you don’t come. But if all of you come and it has been established all that can come, come by a certain time, then there’s no need to wait.”

Panton’s impending endorsement comes after years of internal turbulence, factional divisions, and a legal battle that placed the party under intense public scrutiny.  Last year, amid deepening fractures within the party, she held her own convention and declared herself the leader of the UDP; a move that ignited fierce backlash from then-Party Leader Shyne Barrow, who rejected her claim, resulting in a bitter dispute that ultimately played out in the courts. The episode highlighted the scale of discord within the party and left the opposition struggling to regain stability.  Sunday’s convention is expected to signal the beginning of a new chapter for the UDP. For Tracy Panton, the endorsement will mark a historic moment, as she becomes the first woman to officially lead the party.