Important Note: This Internet version of 7 News is a verbatum
transcript of our evening television news script. Many interviews on our newscast
are conducted in Creole. In the interest of clarity for our foreign readers,
we attempt to paraphrase the Creole quotes in English
Jerry Enriquez and his attorney Anand Ramlogan made a bold attempt to try and stop the elections by going to the high court. They argued that it is unconstitutional to hold an election when the 31 constituencies are way out of wac - and not in conformity with the constitution which requires that they be as close to even as possible.
But, tonight, their application has been dismissed by judge Tawanda Hondora who issued a stinging judgement this afternoon.
Hondora dismissed the application for interim relief and found that Enriquez, Rudolph Norales and Jessica Tulcey were not entitled to any of the reliefs they claimed including an order of mandamus directing the Prime Minister to revoke his advice to the Governor General on dissolving parliament, or an injunction prohibiting the Governor General from issuing a proclamation providing for the holding of the general election, among others.
Today, the main claimant Jerry Enriquez told us he's disappointed:
Jerry Enriquez, Claimant "Well, I was a little disappointed, but not surprised, given the intensity at which we had to carry this whole case to court."
Jules Vasquez "So what happens next?"
Jerry Enriquez, Claimant "Well, we're planning on appealing this case. I do not think it was - Well, I think it is it is something that we need to do in order to ensure that we have a clear balance in our electoral divisions."
Jules Vasquez "But you all entered this asking for the interim relief of really stopping the election train, which is already in process. Are all hopes of that now dashed?"
Jerry Enriquez, Claimant "Well, as you note, as you will note that we had not, contrary to what is repeated over and over that we brought this at the last minute, we were in a sense gentlemanly in which we sent a pre-action letter to advise the prime minister that if elections are called before the redistricting, we would consider it unconstitutional and unlawful. And we send letter to the governor general. We send letter to the attorney general to express those same views that it would it would subject the citizenry to an unlawful election if the status quo remains."
"And unfortunately, elections were still called, even though we had sent our concerns ahead of time. I think it is a breach of our democracy and we are calling on the government to make that right. We cannot continue to seek decent in our democracy and to see political parties using their own will over the constitution of Belize and nitpicking on selecting what they must obey or not."
"The constitution is the supreme law and we want our democracy to work for the benefit of all Belizeans. And if we see that both political parties continue to undermine it, then we must call them to task. And therefore we appeal to people to please support the cause. We do not have the treasure chest that the government has to bring the top lawyers to fight against the people."
Jules Vasquez "So now the thing set that it appears that elections, as might have been expected, will proceed without interference or without any judicial interference. Are you still calling your position that you're nah go vote?"
Jerry Enriquez, Claimant "Mi nah go vote at all, I can't participate in a fraudulent election."
Enriquez says he will meet with his attorney to decide on the next steps - but Ramlogan has said he plans to take the case all the way to the CCJ. Tonight, Enriquez is asking for support for the GoFundMe drive they have started which has raised just a few thousand dollars - when the goal is 15k. Notably Justice Hondora left the door open for government to claim costs against Enriquez and his co claimants and written submissions on that have to be made by Monday.
But, tonight, the Minister with responsibility for elections and boundaries is throwing major shade on Enriquez's Trinidadian attorney. On Sunday at the PUP convention, Henry Charles Usher didn't want to address the uneven distribution of the constituencies, instead he focussed on the Trinidadian attorney, Anand Ramlogan who is the former Attorney General in that country:
Henry Charles Usher, PUP Party Chairman "Now this is a last minute, or really as I think Senior Counsel Courtenay said, that it is not even last minute it is past the midnight hour in terms of bringing this claim. But I think it is important that we understand what is being said and the fact that the Prime Minister has already given his assurances that redistricting will happen. Don't forget that the Elections and Boundaries Commission did prepare a redistricting report, that report was tabled in the House and the corresponding legislation was also introduced in the house. It is at house committee so it's not like nothing has happened."
"The agenda for any parliament is done by the speaker of the house. Of course they go to the House Committee and say is it ready to come back and so on. Right now because parliament is dissolved there will be no house meeting before March the 12th to be able to bring it out of the house committee. I think what is also important for the Belizean people to understand is that why go to a foreign attorney why not use one of the local attorneys?"
REPORTER- "They said they couldn't find any here."
Henry Charles Usher, PUP Party Chairman "And a foreign attorney that has a dubious track record to say the least and I'm sure you'll see his track record if you google his name coming from Trinidad but also what is interesting is that the law firm the address of the law firm is Guava Street which the person who has a law firm there used to be the chairman of the Election and Boundaries Commission, so why is it that in his tenure he did not try to speed up the redistricting process. So I think it's all a last minute effort to frustrate the will of the people and I think that I'll let the lawyers talk about the legal part of it."
But Enriquez believes that, since the PM had decided on the election date way back in December, he could have started working on the redistricting if he actually wanted to. Enriquez says breaking the promise he made to conduct the process following the 2020 elections is disrespectful to the people.
Jerry Enriquez, Claimant "By the time he was thinking of calling elections way back in December, why did not he think about correcting the malapportionment from then? He had a lot of time and he was just saying we were looking at the election, we were planning election right after Christmas with all his closest advisors."
"I find that to be very disrespectful for the Belizean people. If the priority that he promised was to have balanced electoral divisions and he decided not to do that and instead have an early date for election, then I find that to be very disrespectful."
And while Enriquez and Ramlogan head to the Court of Appeal, election processes are still moving ahead and tomorrow, we'll finally find out who will be getting the color red.
The Elections and Boundaries Department will be hosting a meeting with all parties, movements, and candidates who will be contesting the general elections tomorrow in Belmopan. However, ahead of that meeting, reports are that Tracy Panton's slate will be getting the traditional red, while Shyne Barrow's will get red with three black dots. It's a recipe for mass confusion - especially for those of failing eyesight. But, reports say that's the likely compromise.
Panton's candidate for Mesopotamia, Lee Mark Chang, spoke about it this morning on Sunup on 7. We also asked him if his faction of the party will now resume using UDP branding since the contempt charge against Panton has been dropped.
Lee Mark Chang, Standard Bearer, Mesopotamia "The reason was that there was a charge of contempt against our party leader, Tracy so we did whatever the lawyer told us to do and advised us to do but after the court had cleared all of that up then we were free to move on and Tracy can call herself interim party leader any day she feels."
Host: "And with Election Day - well, nomination day is a week away, less than a week, is it clear, or do you know who will get the color red and what the voters will see on that ballot?"
Lee Mark Chang, Standard Bearer, Mesopotamia "Well, there is a proposal that will be going to the Elections and Boundaries tomorrow. I believe Ms Phillipa Bailey and Mr August are for the UDP and we are going to apply for the full red and they're going to apply for the full red with three dots, the dots that are on the flag. But all of that is left to be determined by Elections and Boundaries and we'll see how it goes after that."
Host: "Do you feel like with the current situation happening in the party right now that you two are just robbing each other of votes and possibly setting a foundation for the Mesop area to vote PUP?"
Lee Mark Chang, Standard Bearer, Mesopotamia "We believe that there's a cancer and we need to radiate it. Once we radiate it, we can move forward. Politics sometimes does get messy and to clean house is not easy and that is what Tracy is trying to do right now. She's trying to clean house, she's trying to fix it up, but we find that every time we ask a question, it goes back to the same answer, and the answer comes from Mesop. So we need to deal with that issue and we need to deal with it firmly and we need to make sure that we present our case to the people of Mesop that you want somebody who understands you, who respects you, who will speak to you, who is not condescending, someone who can sit with you on the street side. For me, I don't care, I just go and I be myself, that's how I campaign. I don't need to pretend I'm another person, I just be Lee Mark and everything is fine."
So far, there's still nothing official from the Elections and Boundaries but on Sunday, the Minister with responsibility for that department would only stay it will be settled before nomination day:
Henry Charles Usher, PUP Party Chairman "I know they had a couple of meetings this past week and I don't know what the decisions are at the commission level but certainly it's something that has to be settled before nomination day which is only 8 days away from today. So it's something that we have to make sure the commission makes a decision on so I don't know what that decision is yet."
He allegedly pulled a gun on a housekeeper, and it happened right at the Princess Ramada Hotel on February 15th. The housekeeper, Kitadalia Cassasola, was doing her usual rounds that morning, placing fresh towels in the rooms and when she got to room 308, she told police that she knocked and informed the guest that she brought them clean towels. The guest then reportedly instructed Cassasola to leave them outside but since there was nowhere to set them down she stood outside and waited, and that's when the Chinese Business man 50 year old Yu Cheng Xiao who was staying in 308, cracked the door open and allegedly pushed a firearm out the door towards her, fearing for her life the cleaner handed over the towels and then left. Xiao, who is a resident of Caye Caulker, appeared before a senior magistrate today and was read a single charge of aggravated assault with a firearm. Xiao pleaded not guilty and told the court that he meant no harm to Cassasola and was startled when she had knocked because he had been robbed several times in the past. Cassasola, who was also at court, told the magistrate that she no longer wanted to proceed with court action against Xiao. With that the charge was dismissed. Xiao is a licensed holder of a 9 mm Smith & Wesson firearm which was taken from him by police as a result of the investigation.
It can be seen as another act of retaliation in ongoing gang warfare, another noted gang figure was targeted early this morning just after 3:00.
36 year old Leon Grey was shot to the left foot in the Newton Barracks area while in the company of 37 year old Emmeth Baptist. According to reports the duo were walking between Casinos in that area when two men exited a parked vehicle and fired several shots in their direction. Gray was injured and drove himself to the KHMH. He was treated and released.
Last week, we took you to Hopkins where the villagers attempted to stop a road being pushed through a wetland area along their road. That development saw the land being filled up and mangroves being cut down. By the end of the day, reports were that the Department of Environment gave a verbal cease and desist. The Village Council had posted on their Facebook that 60 lots had been sold in that area and they were trying to establish an access road for them.
On Sunday, the press asked the Minister of Natural Resources about it but he said he didn't have all the facts just yet.
Cordel Hyde, Minister of Natural Resources "I'm not so sure, I'll get a full report on Monday. But the village council seems to be in full support of what has happened there in terms of the development. The villagers know and usually the government is, usually the Ministry of Natural Resources is advised and takes on the recommendations of the village council. But I have to get all the details to really understand what's going on there before I can give a very informed and accurate response to that."
Minister of Natural Resources Hyde also discussed Mike Feinstein's appeal of the decision which found that government's compulsory acquisition of Stake Bank was legal.
Feinstein's attorney Godfrey Smith maintains that it was not - and so even though the land has been transferred to the new private owners - Minister Hyde said that, still, any number can play:
Cordel Hyde, Minister of Natural Resources "Well it's on appeal and you have the litigious risk. I mean anything can happen, you'll never know. And that is why we go to court, that's why people go to court because you hope for a good response. We are pleased that we got the result we got in the high court, but you don't ever know what's going to happen at the court of appeal. We just have to kind of wait and see in the process but we are moving forward."
"The state's intention from the beginning was that we were going to compulsory acquire this for public purpose, that public purpose being to vest it in this company so that they can complete the project, the public benefit being that all the jobs that will be created. In this developmental stage all the jobs that will be created post construction, the boom to the economy, the uplift with the tourism product because the truth is without a side along or whatever they call it cruise port you have a problem with cruise ships coming. Like there has been drops in the cruise tourists coming to Belize because of that and so if that project can be completed then that would be a benefit to the tourism product and can be a benefit to the country on a whole and that's the rationale that we used and we will see how it goes."
"In practice they paid for the land but in practice there is a court case trying to determine whether the land belongs to Stake Bank or whether the land belongs to the other principal. That case will decide a lot. If it is decided that it is for Stake Bank then it all falls away, if it is decided it is for Feinstein and personally then the government will have to compensate them and then that is when the guarantee kicks in right because ultimately the guarantee is that it will not come at any cost to the people of Belize. So ultimately once a compensation has to be paid then they will pay it."
Turning back now to politics - a recent point of contention has been the voters' list in Cayo north. UDP Candidate Omar Figueroa says that the final list to be used in the election is in violation of a clear court order, because it has 124 fraudulent electors on the voters list.
In a release last Friday, the Election and Boundaries Commission said, quote, "there has been no electoral fraud and that all voter registration processes are conducted in full compliance with the Representation of the People Act. Any challenges regarding voter residency within the division are being properly addressed through the appropriate legal channels."
On Sunday, the Minister with responsibility for elections and boundaries dutifully defended the list in its current state:
Henry Charles Usher, PUP Party Chairman "We have to follow what the legislation says and the legislation does contemplate challenges to persons registering or transferring into a division. Now whenever a person or a decision is made by a magistrate that individual has a right to appeal and it says very clearly in the legislation - as the chief elections officer showed the media - that while that appeal is ongoing that the person remains in the constituency that he or she registered in or transferred in. We also need to make sure to not disenfranchise, that's to make sure that everybody knows who is voting where. The list has to be prepared by nomination day you understand so I think it is critical that the legislation is followed."
Candidate Figueroa says "the 101 names were not on the list. They were in the process of transferring. It was stopped by a court order."
Earlier in the news we told you that Enriquez and Ramlogan's redistricting case had been dismissed by Justice Hondora. But the Belize Peace Movement's case has been in the court since November, and they've been waiting since then to have their day in the courtroom. It's been over a month since their last submission and they still have not been called in. Today some of the claimants along with their attorney held a press conference and outlined the timeline since they filed the case.
Paul Morgan, BPM "November 21st we filed this case in the aftermath of case 55 of 2019 simply because we had reason to believe that the elections would be called without the Election and Boundaries Commission doing what it should do, doing what we all expected it to do. So like I said, in November 2024, we filed the case 7:30 and we got a call surprisingly from the court some 11 days thereafter, very quickly. And in that hearing, we were asked to present to the court why and this was the judge bringing in this issue, why our case should not be treated as res judicata in taking two bites of the apple meaning it has been settle before. And so he asked us to put in a presentation and he asked the defendants also to put in a presentation as to why it shouldn't be res judicata. That presentation should have been in the order it should be in by the 13th of January. On the 13th of January, both presentations from the claimants were in. At this point in time, we are waiting for the court to call us, that is over a month now, to call us even though we asked for urgency because we believed the elections would be called even though elections are not due, please remember elections are not due."
"If this election is called without fixing the division list, the schedule 1, if it is called our rights will be abrogated, our rights will be violated, all of us together and this is why our case is so important."
Roody Wade, BPM "It affects me dearly hence the reason why I'm so passionate to see that redistricting is being done. So far, it's only me, this administration has held two illegal elections already in my personal view and another one, if he holds another one, it's going to be illegal, but he has the power and the mandate to call an election but the thing is, all we are asking for is to make it equal. If you have an area that has 2,000, 3,000 people and you have areas that have 10,000, 9,000, where's the equal? So any right thinking person would do the right thing."
And if you're confused between the BPM's redistricting case and the one brought by Enriquez and Ramlogan, one of the claimants, Paul Morgan, clarified the difference. He explained that their case is based on a simple question.
Paul Morgan, BPM "It is like two buckets, one has 3/4 and the other has 5/8. Similar, I'm sure our attorney will speak on this also but our case is centered around schedule 1 of ROPA. It is asking the court a simple question, whether or not schedule 1 of ROPA comports with the constitution. If they say yes, then we lose and if they say no, the Elections and Boundaries has a responsibility to fix it because the Elections and Boundaries has no right to run an election that is illegal. I'll give you an example, the elections and boundaries is mandated by the constitution to run elections, no one else under the constitution can run an election in Belize, not the executive, they can't hire anybody else, it is the elections and boundaries commission that must run the elections. They cannot take anything, any schedule to run the elections, it must be by schedule 1, that is what our constitution say. It is like this, the prime minister cannot give the elections and boundaries commission an illegal order."
Sharon Pitts, Attorney, BPM "It is our view and position that it has that live issue with respect to whether schedule 1of the representation of the people's act is contrary or in compliance with the constitution of Belize. With respect to the question you asked, claim #730 of 2024, just by the numeration predates the claim which I believe you referred to. It is open for the parties and for the court, it seems to me of its own discretion or violation if it takes judicial notice to consolidate or join the matters."
And prior to the dismissal of Ramlogan's claim, the BPM was asked whether the two cases could be joined. Morgan explained that they hadn't discussed it yet.
Paul Morgan, BPM "We don't have the authority to join them but the court can join those cases if they want to, to make sure that their management of the issues is efficient, that's my understanding of it. Maybe the attorney can say whether we can apply to join them but that is not at this time in our discussions. At this time, we would like the court to give us a hearing in order to determine whether or not schedule 1 is constitutional. Anything short of that is not gonna work because the elections is a milestone that will define what will happen in the next period of government."
Sharon Pitts, Attorney, BPM "I believe that with respect to the matter and there might be indication that the other claimants in the other claim might be intent on applying for joinder of their subsequent action to this prior matter consolidation and it seems to me of its own discretion and volition, the court can order the matter joined without any formalities. Where we are at this juncture, it seems to be that the executive or government and this sounds inconsistent or oxymoronic, they wanted quickly to discard of this matter and then otherwise to stall it beyond and to bury it under a mountain and tsunami of pleadings so that there would be further pleadings applications as though to wary and tax the time and have it run out beyond the election. What it goes to though is the legitimacy of a government, any government which is formed out of this will be called into question but I believe as political decisions go and political propagandists, they figure, you know what, after the fact we will deal with that and we will promise again, we always promise the people."
And with BPM's redistricting case being the only one currently in front of the high court, it's likely that the elections will be conducted with the electoral constituencies as they are. But the BPM advised Belizeans that this isn't just a breach of the constitution, it's an infringement on the rights of the people.
Paul Morgan, BPM "We ask not only the Belizean people but the press to begin to understand what is happening with our rights. It is more than the executive breaching the constitution. It is more, I'm more afraid that it is the tolerance that we don't have a backdrop. I would like to challenge the people of Belize and the press to learn more about what we're doing here. We understand, we believe that the politicians have our backs. Honestly, they know that we don't know so that is why they're doing what they're doing now. The more dangerous part of it is that we might not have protection and this is me personally, I believe the courts should be true to its mandate to defend us. And if the court does not defend us, then we have a broken constitution. Why have a constitution if we can't get redress?"
Reporter: "All that is left now is for the oral hearing and then decision?"
Paul Morgan, BPM "That is correct."
Reporter: "So it's not a lot, you're almost at the end."
Paul Morgan, BPM "We should be there but elections are coming also and you said what do we tell our people, we tell our people to understand what is happening. It is more important that you know what is happening than to make a decision on Election Day because we will live after Election Day."
Earlier in the newscast we told you that one faction of the UDP may get to use the traditional red and another faction would get red with three black dots. Late this evening, the chairman of the Elections and Boundaries Commission sent a media colleague a note saying that five of their members along with Chief Elections Officer Josephine Tamai met this morning to determine the allocation of colors. He stated that two meetings were held, on the 5th and the 12th, but no vote was taken to give time to the two contending factions to engage in consultation with the commissioner. Both factions submitted written statements but there was some pushback from Shyne Barrow's. Ultimately he relented and it was revealed that both factions opted for the traditional red. A vote was then called for, and there were six options on the ballot. Four of the commissioners voted for "traditional UDP red with different symbols." Both factions were then instructed to submit their choice of symbol by nomination day.
If you drive down Central American Boulevard, you'll see the most bewildering array of political signs - as many as four names on one lamppost!
But for us - there's only one we needed to see - the one with the Superman stamp on it. That's Phillip Willoughby - "Philloughby" to us - and he's part of a four person field of aspirants in Port Loyola that is historic for two reasons: first, three of them are UDP, and second, the other candidate, the one for the PUP is his father in law.
We asked him about that and more today when we met him walking down Neal's Pen Road:
Boots Martinez "I don't know why he doesn't go look for a JOB."
He took some heavy personal attacks last week, but today Phillip Willoughby wasn't focussing on that. Instead he led us on a walk through of Neal's Pen Road - an area nicely paved by the current PUP area rep - which might look good but has caused a serious flooding problem for the properties between Faber's and Pen Roads.
Even in the dry - residents between the two roads now have to balance on these pallets and hope they don't fall in - just to get to their front door:
Phillip Willoughby, UDP Aspirant - Port Loyola "Whilst the thoroughfare looks beautiful and you can enjoy walking on it while it's not flooded, you can drive on it, yeah, you enjoy that. That is what you see, a smooth drive. The reality is that in this case, progress and development has affected and impact the quality of life of the people who lives here. This is like you've created a dam."
"When the street was built, no drainage was put in place."
"Like I said, the pond used to serve as, or the creek used to serve as a catchment area. That water, that volume of water is now displace, it's in your property, it's in your home."
And the creator is area rep Gilroy Usher, Willoughby's opponent and his father in law
Phillip Willoughby, UDP Aspirant - Port Loyola "But you have the current representative who knows of these issues, but has he stood up and spoken to it so that action could have been taken to mitigate it or fix it? Has that happened? No. He should have done his part to bring awareness and voice the concern and petition who you need to petition, lobby who you need to lobby, so that the relevant authorities could have come in to fix it."
"Now, if you can't do the job, then, if that is the case, I am willing to do that for the people of Port Loyola."
Jules Vasquez "How hard is it for you to speak about these issues when you speak about your wife's father?"
"Is it a difficult thing for you?"
Phillip Willoughby, UDP Aspirant - Port Loyola "No, my heart isn't racing. I'm not thinking twice about how to explain what the reality is on the ground. Look, I am not taking any personal shots at any individual. I am speaking directly to policy decision that has affected and impacted the people from Port Loyola in this particular area."
Jules Vasquez "It's not a policy issue. It's a personal character failing. If you believe that an area representative does not have a stowth enough heart to go to the House of Representatives and say, listen, my people need this. Somebody has to stand up for them. He lacks courage. That's what you're saying."
Phillip Willoughby, UDP Aspirant - Port Loyola "Right. Jules, let's take it a step further. No masking. If you recall, prior to the 2020 general elections, right? The minister used to call every talk show in the morning, speaking to all issues on the matter of a policy. Yes, you didn't stand up to the test. On a personal level, you didn't call like you once did before to highlight issues."
And while Willoughby says ready to name and shame his father in law, what about his UDP predecessor and 4 time area rep, Boots Martinez:
Jules Vasquez "You took some personal attacks from Boots Martinez last week. Boots Martinez said you need to get a JOB. And he alleged, without proof, that your wife is taking care of you, how would you respond to those criticisms?"
Phillip Willoughby, UDP Aspirant - Port Loyola "My senior counsel will respond on my behalf."
Jules Vasquez "Uh-huh."
Phillip Willoughby, UDP Aspirant - Port Loyola "Yes, sir."
Jules Vasquez "That's where you're taking it with Boots?"
Phillip Willoughby, UDP Aspirant - Port Loyola "Yes, sir. My senior counsel will respond on my behalf, on those matters. I mean, I can get petty and I can throw a low blow with his multiple and various scenarios. The fact of the matter is, I know who my children are. I don't need to do no DNA test. I will not jump out to the media like a drowning man grabbing at straws, which is petty, that does nothing than for him to belittle himself."
"I would have dare say, Jules, you should have asked that man if he had done a toxicology test before or after, because I not even say rock head behaves like that."
Jules Vasquez "But he raised an issue that voters may be concerned about. Do you have a job? Are you gainfully employed? Do you have a way to earn a living?"
Phillip Willoughby, UDP Aspirant - Port Loyola "Yes, I do."
Jules Vasquez "How?"
Phillip Willoughby, UDP Aspirant - Port Loyola "Jules, over my time and tenure, being involved with politics, I have made friends. People appreciate what I have done over the years. It is the private citizen, it is members from the business community who have spoken with me and said to me, Phillip, you are good for politics in Belize. We believe in you, we can pledge to support you so you can continue on, continue the work."
"Jules, I do have an MBA, and you could go down lower from there, and I can go to work, yes, and I could have went back to the private sector, yes. But it was my selflessness of wanting to continue the work for and on behalf of people that I love. That is why I accepted what was given to me to continue doing the work for the people of Port Loyola."
Jules Vasquez "Is it selflessness, though, or is it self-delusion or self-destructive tendency that you stay in a politics when, my brother, your prospects of success do not look good."
Phillip Willoughby, UDP Aspirant - Port Loyola "It is for the people to decide that when my phone rings, I take the call."
To be clear, Willoughby is Tracy Panton's candidate, Nelma Mortis is Shyne's candidate, and Boots Martinez says he is the one true UDP candidate. All three plan to get nominated for the UDP Port Loyola seat on Monday.
And keeping it on political aspirants who have a difficult road ahead, we also interviewed Andrew Reynolds, a farmer and pastor who is running for Will Maheia's PNP in Belize Rural North. He says he decided to run when after Hurricanes Eta and Iota when he and other small farmers got no support from the government:
Reynolds will be running against Eustace Shaw for the UDP and Marconi Leal Junior for the PUP. We asked if Leal Junior has an advantage with his land clinics for registered voters:
They call him "Star" and Cordel Hyde - asz the most senior PUP politician in Belize City - was surely the star of Sunday's convention - which was adjacent to his home turf of Lake I.
The crowd favorite especially gave a short yet powerful dress but his super energised supporters didn't need much:
Cordel Hyde, Minister of Natural Resources "Well it was a very impressive crowd, very boisterous and happy crowd and I think that was the intention for us to energise our base and for us for us to get our people excited about the elections and leave from this place energised and motivated and but work as hard as they possibly can to ensure that we win the next elections you know elections are not a given we can't take it for granted you can't take the people for granted you don't win before the last vote is counted. And so today was a rather useful exercise outside of the fact that we endorsed our new executive and returned the prime minister as our party leader to take us into the next elections with his executive intact. But really it was about the people and about energising our folks and I think they left here pretty energised."
"We the go correct we aren't there yet, but we are going correct we have done a lot of good things there are more people getting cement houses than ever before, more people getting land than ever before, more kids in school than ever before, and more people working than ever before but we still have a lot of work to do we are going correct but we are not there yet. And ultimately it's about a journey. Elections are about a direction, a trajectory, about a future and about where you are going and whether what you want for your children and what you want for your families and communities and ultimately that's the argument we want to take to our people. I keep telling my guys to ignore and don't be distracted by the UDP soap opera. Stay focused on what we are about because we are not going to win the elections before the elections. So you have to campaign everyday as hard as you can as if there is no tomorrow as if though you are behind as if though your life depends on it and ultimately it's about we and the voters, about having a conversation with the Belizean people about what's best and how we see the country going and where we want to take the country that's what its about."
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Jerry Enriquez and his attorney Anand Ramlogan made a bold attempt to try and stop the elections by going to the high court. They argued that it is unconstitutional to hold an election when the 31 constituencies are way out of wac - and not in conformity with the constitution which requires that they be as close to even as possible.
"Well, I was a little disappointed, but not surprised, given the intensity at which we had to carry this whole case to court."
But, tonight, the Minister with responsibility for elections and boundaries is throwing major shade on Enriquez's Trinidadian attorney. On Sunday at the PUP convention, Henry Charles Usher didn't want to address the uneven distribution of the constituencies, instead he focussed on the Trinidadian attorney, Anand Ramlogan who is the former Attorney General in that country:
Henry Charles Usher, PUP Party Chairman
"The reason was that there was a charge of contempt against our party leader, Tracy so we did whatever the lawyer told us to do and advised us to do but after the court had cleared all of that up then we were free to move on and Tracy can call herself interim party leader any day she feels."
So far, there's still nothing official from the Elections and Boundaries but on Sunday, the Minister with responsibility for that department would only stay it will be settled before nomination day:
He allegedly pulled a gun on a housekeeper, and it happened right at the Princess Ramada Hotel on February 15th. The housekeeper, Kitadalia Cassasola, was doing her usual rounds that morning, placing fresh towels in the rooms and when she got to room 308, she told police that she knocked and informed the guest that she brought them clean towels. The guest then reportedly instructed Cassasola to leave them outside but since there was nowhere to set them down she stood outside and waited, and that's when the Chinese Business man 50 year old Yu Cheng Xiao who was staying in 308, cracked the door open and allegedly pushed a firearm out the door towards her, fearing for her life the cleaner handed over the towels and then left. Xiao, who is a resident of Caye Caulker, appeared before a senior magistrate today and was read a single charge of aggravated assault with a firearm. Xiao pleaded not guilty and told the court that he meant no harm to Cassasola and was startled when she had knocked because he had been robbed several times in the past. Cassasola, who was also at court, told the magistrate that she no longer wanted to proceed with court action against Xiao. With that the charge was dismissed. Xiao is a licensed holder of a 9 mm Smith & Wesson firearm which was taken from him by police as a result of the investigation. 
It can be seen as another act of retaliation in ongoing gang warfare, another noted gang figure was targeted early this morning just after 3:00.
Last week, we took you to Hopkins where the villagers attempted to stop a road being pushed through a wetland area along their road. That development saw the land being filled up and mangroves being cut down. By the end of the day, reports were that the Department of Environment gave a verbal cease and desist. The Village Council had posted on their Facebook that 60 lots had been sold in that area and they were trying to establish an access road for them.
"I'm not so sure, I'll get a full report on Monday. But the village council seems to be in full support of what has happened there in terms of the development. The villagers know and usually the government is, usually the Ministry of Natural Resources is advised and takes on the recommendations of the village council. But I have to get all the details to really understand what's going on there before I can give a very informed and accurate response to that."
Minister of Natural Resources Hyde also discussed Mike Feinstein's appeal of the decision which found that government's compulsory acquisition of Stake Bank was legal.
"November 21st we filed this case in the aftermath of case 55 of 2019 simply because we had reason to believe that the elections would be called without the Election and Boundaries Commission doing what it should do, doing what we all expected it to do. So like I said, in November 2024, we filed the case 7:30 and we got a call surprisingly from the court some 11 days thereafter, very quickly. And in that hearing, we were asked to present to the court why and this was the judge bringing in this issue, why our case should not be treated as res judicata in taking two bites of the apple meaning it has been settle before. And so he asked us to put in a presentation and he asked the defendants also to put in a presentation as to why it shouldn't be res judicata. That presentation should have been in the order it should be in by the 13th of January. On the 13th of January, both presentations from the claimants were in. At this point in time, we are waiting for the court to call us, that is over a month now, to call us even though we asked for urgency because we believed the elections would be called even though elections are not due, please remember elections are not due."
"It affects me dearly hence the reason why I'm so passionate to see that redistricting is being done. So far, it's only me, this administration has held two illegal elections already in my personal view and another one, if he holds another one, it's going to be illegal, but he has the power and the mandate to call an election but the thing is, all we are asking for is to make it equal. If you have an area that has 2,000, 3,000 people and you have areas that have 10,000, 9,000, where's the equal? So any right thinking person would do the right thing."
"It is our view and position that it has that live issue with respect to whether schedule 1of the representation of the people's act is contrary or in compliance with the constitution of Belize. With respect to the question you asked, claim #730 of 2024, just by the numeration predates the claim which I believe you referred to. It is open for the parties and for the court, it seems to me of its own discretion or violation if it takes judicial notice to consolidate or join the matters."
If you drive down Central American Boulevard, you'll see the most bewildering array of political signs - as many as four names on one lamppost!
He took some heavy personal attacks last week, but today Phillip Willoughby wasn't focussing on that. Instead he led us on a walk through of Neal's Pen Road - an area nicely paved by the current PUP area rep - which might look good but has caused a serious flooding problem for the properties between Faber's and Pen Roads.
Phillip Willoughby, UDP Aspirant - Port Loyola 