_{Hon. Patrick Faber – Opposition Senator}

UDP National Party Council reinstated all except Faber

BELIZE CITY, Mon. July 14, 2025

The United Democratic Party (UDP) was finally able to proceed with a National Party Council (NPC) meeting on Saturday, July 12, at the party’s headquarters on Youth for the Future Drive in Belize City. This time, there was no demonstration to prevent it. In fact, there were reports that supporters of Albert area representative and Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Tracy Panton would boycott the meeting. The day prior, Panton had written to the chairman of the party, Michael Peyrefitte, to make known her objection to the meeting. She stated that, as it was configured, the meeting did “not reflect the spirit of unity and collaboration; nor does it signal, in my view, a serious or sincere effort to move the United Democratic Party forward in a manner that is fair, transparent, and constitutionally sound.” 

_{Michael Peyrefitte, Chairman, UDP}

In the letter, Panton reminded Peyrefitte that she agreed to his return based on the agreement that the status quo ante of the party’s officials and bodies like the Central Executive Committee and the NPC would be preserved. This would have meant that she should have attended the meeting as a delegate, given that the party’s constitution stipulates that all UDP members of Parliament form part of the NPC. Instead, Panton pointed out that, although she is the duly elected representative for the Albert Division, she was not invited to attend; but persons who are aligned with former leader of the party, Moses “Shyne” Barrow were given “undue influence over the party’s affairs.” It was a direct reference to Jose Uk Espat, who ran on the Barrow slate against Panton in the Albert Division in the March 12 general elections.

The meeting, however, did not proceed without a hitch.  Patrick Faber, who was also considered expelled from the party, showed up. Peyrefitte said that Faber tried to disrupt the meeting, which prompted a shift of the voting to a virtual platform. Those in attendance were to vote on the reinstatement of all the members who were considered expelled and those not in good standing, but Peyrefitte explained that, due to Faber’s behaviour, they tweaked the vote to exclude him from the resolution. Therefore, all other expelled members whose status was under consideration during the meeting were reinstated except Faber. Peyrefitte declared that he was the first to vote against Faber, and added that as long as he is chairman of the UDP, Faber’s former status as a member of the UDP will not be restored. According to Peyrefitte, “Patrick Faber somehow got into the meeting and tried to create a disruption. He wanted to derail the meeting, but once we realized what he was trying to do, we didn’t give him the pleasure of doing that …” Peyrefitte referenced Panton, who, he said, decided to stay away from the meeting despite her objection. He added, “The UDP is not an abused woman. The UDP is not to be bullied. The UDP will not have its doors kicked down by a sick, deranged individual.”

Faber told the media that he merely went upstairs of the UDP headquarters and “sat down on a chair, quietly.” When he was told that he had not been invited, he responded that, based on the party’s constitution, he did not need an invitation, as he is a former leader of the party, and he is also a UDP senator and the caretaker for the Collet Division.

The UDP will now move to hold constituency conventions for 17 divisions plus Collet. The National Convention will then be held on October 5, 2025.

Panton, in her letter to Peyrefitte on Friday, stated that she supports constituency conventions held on March 12 in all 26 divisions in which no opposition member was elected; or, preferably, that no conventions be held before the National Convention. She said, “It is both unsound and unconstitutional to require only those who supported my leadership to face conventions, while also excepting others who also lost their seats in the last General Elections. This double standard is indefensible and can be interpreted as divisive.”

Panton has committed to answering questions regarding her position on Saturday’s NPC meeting at a press conference tomorrow; however, on her Facebook page this morning, she hinted at what the position is. She wrote, “Whenever the current UDP Leadership Executive is ready to do the right thing and do things the right way, we will be here ready to participate. In the meantime, the UDP Parliamentarian Caucus and I will focus on the national issues and will hold this corrupt BLU PUP government to account.”

Peyrefitte has said that Faber, who thought himself “bigger than the Party,” will not see his application for standard bearer of Collet accepted. Speaking about having him removed from the meeting, Peyrefitte said, “Removing him from the UDP is better than dragging him downstairs from upstairs there. We called the police, and the police made it very clear that, unless there is a fight, they won’t intervene.”