_{Photo: (l-r) Hon. Tracy Taegar-Panton, Hon. Patrick Faber, Beverly Williams and John Saldivar hold press conference}

AFD to hold its own leadership convention to recall Shyne; UDP advertises four standard bearer vacancies

BELIZE CITY, Wed. September 5, 2024

The Alliance for Democracy (AFD) led by Albert Area Representative, Hon. Tracy Panton, held off two days on holding a press conference that had been scheduled for Monday, September 2. Speaking at the podium from the conference room at Hon. Patrick Faber’s Collet constituency office on Antelope Street Extension in Belize City, Hon. Panton explained that they had waited until an hour before the start of the conference to hear back from the leadership of the United Democratic Party (UDP) if they would retract the decision to “constructively resign” her, Faber, John Saldivar and Beverly Williams, the latter two being Belmopan and Belize Rural Central UDP standard bearers, respectively. The AFD said the retraction was their sole demand to agree to return to mediation. When that didn’t happen, they proceeded with their press conference where they made the bombshell announcement that the AFD will hold its own leadership convention, which they are calling a unity convention. The event is set for Sunday, October 6. At that time, they intend to conduct their recall of UDP Leader, Hon. Moses “Shyne” Barrow, a move which has been denied by Party Chairman, Michael Peyrefitte. They will then move to appoint an interim leader. As to who that would be, Hon. Faber reiterated, in reference to Hon. Panton, “We are with her,” and Saldivar also chimed in saying, “I’m with her.”

About an hour after the conference had concluded, the UDP issued a release announcing vacancies in all four divisions of those at the AFD head table. Hon. Panton had indicated that all the UDP leadership had said they could do when asked for a retraction was to stay the announcement of the vacancies. It therefore appears that once the press conference went ahead, that too was taken off the table, and the UDP release emphatically declared, “For the avoidance of doubt, Tracy Panton, Patrick Faber, John Saldivar and Beverly Williams are no longer members of the United Democratic Party.”

At the AFD conference, however, all four insisted that no one can force them out of their party. Hon. Panton informed that they intend to visit with the over 500 national convention delegates of the party ahead of their unity convention to obtain their support. Pointing to the last leadership convention in March of 2022 when she lost to Barrow by a mere three votes and a recount was denied, Hon. Panton stated, “I am not of the view that I lost that convention …” She then questioned the affirmation of Barrow’s camp that 19 standard bearers were behind him. She declared, “I should have been blown out of the water if we followed that math. I have every faith – we have every faith in the delegates of this party who want to stand by the principles and values of the United Democratic Party that is enshrined in the Constitution.”

But even if the AFD gets two thirds of the delegates of the national convention to recall Barrow, all actions of the AFD may continue being ignored by the UDP leadership right through to whenever the next general elections are called. An issue of legitimization would therefore remain. We asked what would happen come election time if the UDP leadership proceeds to appoint, as is clearly the plan, new standard bearers in their divisions. We put to the AFD that election officials would have to nominate the standard bearers declared by the recognized UDP leadership. Hon. Faber told the media, “We are not leaving our party, and it will be up to the people of the country to decide who is the real UDP: the leader who goes to handpick people to kiss up, kiss up, kiss up, to keep him as Leader of the Opposition, or a leader who will come along, who will work truly to upkeep democracy and unity in this party, and put us much farther along on the road to recovery of our party’s values … our party’s fortunes in terms of election winning and so on.”

Hon. Faber responded to the point that, even if a new leader for the party is identified, Barrow will remain Leader of the Opposition in the House, given that he currently still enjoys the support of Hon. Denise Barrow in Queen’s Square and Hugo Patt in Corozal North. “The reality is that who is the Leader of the Opposition is not a real reflection of what the party wants; and I will say that on the record today, that if Hugo Patt would take a temperature check to see what’s the job rating satisfaction of Shyne Barrow on the street … the people out here are telling you they don’t like his leadership style, and that he ought not be the person to lead this party,” commented Hon. Faber. For her part, Hon. Panton declared, “All four of us that sit at this table will be running in the next general elections for the UDP.” Hon. Faber chimed in, declaring, “Guaranteed!”

As to going to court, the AFD is of the view that it would be unlikely that a court would intervene in internal political matters of a party. Saldivar therefore said they are taking the matter to the court of public opinion.

Hon. Faber also addressed present UDP leadership’s equating their situation with that of Marcel Cardona, who was declared “constructively resigned” while Hon. Faber himself was Party Chairman in 2011. Hon. Faber shared, “Marcel Cardona’s case, first of all, was a decision made by the Cabinet … It went to the Central Executive of the Party, and it was carried. It went to the National Party Council, and it was carried.” He also reminded that Cardona had spoken against the budget in the House of Representatives. Hon, Faber then said, “If you use what the Leader recently did to me when I wrote my letter to the Constitution and Foreign Affairs Committee, he did not even wait for a vote to get out there to the media, and to deem me to have effectively crossed the floor.”

Today, the AFD also presented a white paper it titled, “Reforming for the Future: A vision for a democratic and united UDP.” The 11-page document outlines the need to revise the processes of the UDP, including the selection of standard bearers, voting, holding meetings and proposed changes to the UDP Constitution to eliminate ambiguity.

For his part, Peyrefitte on Tuesday said that the UDP will work out its issues, and called on the people “to have the faith that they always have in the UDP to bounce back and form the government and deliver for the good of the people.” “I say, ‘rest easy.’ Don’t ‘hot your head.’ The UDP will correct itself. Let’s focus on what this government is doing while trying to use the UDP as a distraction,” he added. Peyrefitte proclaimed that “the internal business of the UDP pales in comparison to what’s happening in this nation right now.”