BELIZE CITY, Mon. July 1, 2019– The ruling United Democratic Party (UDP) held a contested convention to elect a standard bearer for the Caribbean Shores constituency yesterday, Sunday, and the former president of the Senate, Lee Mark Chang, emerged victorious, defeating former UDP city councilor, Leila Peyrefitte.
In the 2015 general election, Caribbean Shores fell into the hands of the Opposition People’s United Party after the PUP candidate, Kareem Musa, defeated the former Belize City mayor, Darrell Bradley, who remained as the caretaker for the constituency following his defeat.
During the recently held International Court of Justice referendum on May 10, Peyrefitte had been putting in work in the area and appeared to have had the backing of individuals in the ranks of the UDP leadership, including Prime Minister Dean Barrow.
To complicate the picture even further, the former UDP area representative, Santiago “Santi” Castillo, briefly threw his hat into the ring, and just as quickly, stepped aside, saying he did not have the support of PM Barrow, leaving Chang and Peyrefitte to slug it out.
A total of 1,267 persons voted in the convention. Chang received 776 votes compared to Peyrefitte, who Chang, after he was sworn in by UDP chairman Alberto August, thanked his supporters and pledged to work hard to bring a UDP victory to Caribbean Shores when the 2020 general elections are called.
Chang will face off against the incumbent PUP area representative, Hon. Kareem Musa.