BELIZE CITY, Mon. May 16, 2022
Sunday, May 15, marked the first day of this year’s village council elections, which are set to take place over a period of six weeks. So far, the People’s United Party has managed to secure several wins, with a number of them being the result of uncontested elections.
Of the twenty-nine villages that held elections on Sunday, the People’s United Party won eight that were uncontested. Of the twenty-one that were contested, the United Democratic Party managed to secure wins in only two villages, with the People’s United Party prevailing in a total of seventeen.
This past Sunday was also nomination day for some thirty-eight villages whose elections are set for Sunday, May 22. Of those villages, at least 13 saw no representation from the United Democratic Party. The People’s United Party, in a press release issued this week, has already claimed victory in those thirteen villages.
During an interview with local media last week, Hon. Julius Espat, the representative for Cayo South, stated that the results of the elections will indicate whether or not the people of the country are satisfied with the work of the current administration.
“If they believe we are doing a good job, they will elect us. If they believe that they want to do a protest vote, we welcome it, because if they do a protest vote then I will just have to put in more work,” he said.
Hon. Espat’s statement came just a few days after the Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Moses “Shyne” Barrow, suggested that villagers use their vote as a form of protest to express dissatisfaction with the present government. At the beginning of the month, the party leader had undertaken a tour of the country’s villages in preparation for the upcoming elections.
By the end of the six-week period, on Sunday, July 3, elections will have been held in a total of 190 villages across the country.