After weeks of build-up, political ads, and jostling for support from senior members of their party, the two PUP Senators, Paul Thompson and Valerie Woods, went up against each other in a fathers' day convention to choose the PUP standard bearer for the Albert Division.
Now, if you followed the political chess game on this particular challenge, you'll know that Woods decided to challenge Thompson who was the PUP's losing candidate in the 2015 general election. But there were strong undercurrents of party rivalries because Thompson is a Cordel Hyde loyalist and they delivered the Belize City Council victory for the PUP.
Valerie Woods, on the other hand was the favourite of many in the party power structure, not least because she was a female candidate for standard bearer in a party that currently has none.
Well, on Sunday at the Anglican Cathedral College, located on Regent Street, the voters of the constituency got their opportunity to choose who they believed to be the stronger of the two candidates, When the ballots were tabulated at the close of polls, it was determined that Thompson had won by a margin of 237 votes.
Here's that moment yesterday when Party Chairman Henry Charles Usher announced the results to the boisterous crowd outside the gate of the ACC compound:
Henry Charles Usher, PUP Chairman
"The official results are: that a total of nine hundred and thirty-eight votes were cast; we had twenty that were spoilt and three that were rejected. Receiving three hundred and thirty-nine votes was Mrs. Valerie Woods and receiving five hundred and seventy-six votes, Mr. Paul Thompson."
Valerie Woods
"I thought I fought a very good campaign, positive against my opponent Paul Thompson and I think my team really did a fantastic job of positive messaging which has been absent for a while. So I'm very glad. The people decided and that's good with me."
Reporter
"Will you give one more try in terms of electoral politics?"
Valerie Woods
"I am not so sure I could answer that yet. What I am encouraged by is the overwhelming support I've been getting countrywide particularly from women and from young girls. You don't walk away from something like that so easily and the PUP as a party has a lot of work to do clearly in that front."
So, as you heard, Valerie Woods has conceded to Thompson's victory, congratulating him on the win. After he took the swearing in oath as a PUP Standard Bearer, he granted an interview to the awaiting press. Here's what he had to say about yesterday's victory:
Paul Thompson
"First of all I like to acknowledge my opponent Senator Valerie Woods. We embrace challenges. You know what they say 'what doesn't kill you, make you stronger.' At the end of the day we are all PUPs and so we have to make sure that all PUPs come out and vote when the General Elections comes around."
Reporter
"How do you bring about the healing considering the fact there was tension in the room when they tried to select the names who will be on the list? How do you strategize moving forward in building that healing process?"
Paul Thompson
"As they say on the streets we no watch no face, yo know. We embrace everybody. Winning general elections is about not only P.U.P.s but bringing over people who are on the other party and who don't necessarily follow you in the beginning. That's what we do. We have a big tent approach. So that's what we intent to do for the upcoming general elections."
"This is the first step towards going to Belmopan and governing this country. The next step after that is raging war against poverty, raging war for better and adequate housing, for free education, for making sure that people are relieve from poverty."
The day itself was full of tension between both sides, and Police had to call for reinforcements in the morning when supporters for both sides clashed verbally.
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