_{Photo: Dr. Nelma Jones-Morits}

by Charles Gladden

BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Aug. 22, 2024

The 2025 General Election will be taking place in, at most, a little over a year.

On Wednesday, August 21, the UDP announced that they are endorsing three new candidates in Belize City for the upcoming elections. Those candidates are the following: Dr. Nelma Jones-Mortis – who ran in the municipal elections as the party’s mayoral candidate; Dr. Abraham Flowers – a newcomer to the political arena; and former Port Loyola area representative, Anthony “Boots” Martinez.

Dr. Jones-Mortis is the standard bearer for Caribbean Shores and will go up against current area representative, Hon. Kareem Musa; and Dr. Flowers will face off against longtime area representative, Hon. Francis Fonseca in Freetown. Meanwhile, the former area representative Martinez stepped out of retirement to battle in Port Loyola against incumbent Hon. Gilroy Usher after being defeated in Pickstock in the 2020 elections.

The move is being met with criticism in some quarters, and is being described by those critics as unconstitutional. That’s exactly what Hon. Tracy Panton’s Alliance for Democracy pointed out in a statement released to the media.

“The Alliance for Democracy strongly condemns the arbitrary and unconstitutional appointment of 3 new Standard Bearers for the United Democratic Party in Belize City without the approval of the National Party Council,” it said.

The statement continued by blaming the UDP leader, Hon. Moses “Shyne” Barrow, and the UDP chairman, Michael Peyrefitte, for blatantly disregarding the procedures and guidelines outlined in the Party’s Constitution.

“It is noteworthy that members of the Executive Committees for the respective divisions were not consulted in this process, which is also a flagrant breach of the Party’s institutional arrangements,” it added.

Notably, UDP Collet area representative and former UDP leader Hon. Patrick Faber joined forces with Hon. Panton and a group of other UDP standard bearers to challenge the leadership of Shyne Barrow, during the UDP’s National Party Council (NPC) several weeks ago following the party’s defeat in the July 17 Toledo East by-election

Amandala reached out to Hon. Panton for further comment but was unable to get a response as of press time.