BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Aug. 1, 2019– Independence Hall, the home of the Opposition People’s United Party (PUP), was packed with party supporters, standard bearers and some parliamentarians who attended an endorsement convention for the standard bearer for the Mesopotamia constituency.
Just before Belize got its political independence in 1981, Mesopotamia was one of the PUP’s strongholds in Belize City, where the late Carl Lindbergh Rogers, the Deputy Premier of Belize, dominated the constituency.
In the push toward independence, however, Rogers spent a lot of his time working for the Independence Secretariat outside the country and lost the division.
The United Democratic Party’s late Curl Thompson captured the seat and it has remained under the UDP’s control ever since.
With the winds in their sails following the party’s successes in the recent village council elections, the PUP has been on a roll and are gearing up for what they believe will be an early general election.
Dr. Candice Pitts, the new PUP standard bearer for the Mesopotamia constituency, captured the most votes in the Belize City Council elections last March.
Belize City Mayor, Bernard Wagner, who was one of several speakers at the endorsement convention, spoke glowingly about Dr. Pitts and her determination to succeed at whatever task she undertakes.
Several persons from the newly installed PUP Mesopotamia Committee nominated Dr. Pitts as their standard bearer, and committed themselves to the hard fight that lies ahead to win back the seat for the PUP.
Dr. Pitts was introduced by Hon. Julius Espat, the area representative for the Cayo South constituency. Following Hon. Espat’s introduction, the PUP chairman, Henry Charles Usher, made some remarks, before swearing in Dr. Pitts as the Mesopotamia standard bearer.
The evening ended with remarks by PUP leader, Hon. John Briceno.
The current Mesopotamia area representative, Hon. Michael Finnegan, is stepping down after winning the seat in five consecutive general elections. The UDP has endorsed Shyne Barrow, a son of Prime Minister Dean Barrow and nephew of Hon. Finnegan, as their man for Mesopotamia.
So whenever the general elections are called, the PUP’s Dr. Candice Pitts, Belize City Councilor and assistant professor at the University of Belize, will do battle against the UDP’s Shyne Barrow, who has been Belize’s Music Ambassador since he was deported from the United States.