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Courtney Menzies braved the blue wave to be there yesterday afternoon and has this story.

A blue tsunami washed over the Civic Center on Sunday as thousands of PUP supporters traveled from all over the country to their party's national convention. With an estimated 8,000 supporters in attendance, it's the biggest showing of mass party muscle in this century, and a pitch to voters that this is the winning team.

And while this massive gathering would intimidate any opposition, the PM said he is "cautiously optimistic":

John Briceno, Prime Minister
"I do feel quite confident but cautiously optimistic. I tell all my colleagues, we have to work, we have to visit our voters to make sure we could continue to hold their support so they could come out on March 12th and vote for us. The worse thing that can happen to us is complacency and I'm hoping that that won't happen and with this showing I'm hoping that it will energize us to continue knocking on doors and organizing that on March 12th, people are going to come out to give us that support."

Courtney Menzies:
"Why March 12th? Why did you decide to call elections early?"

John Briceno, Prime Minister
"Well, what happened from last year, you guys have been saying to call the election. And I've said no, I'm going to wait, I wanted to wait until 2025 and we were looking different - I've had a lot of discussions but it was just before Christmas, I had a meeting with some of my closest advisors and it was then that we decided that March would be a good time, usually March, people are working, it's usually not raining, it's not hot, so it's a good time to hold the election so we felt that March the 12th should work."

So while the rest of the country had been in limbo since late last year, the PUP were already oiling up their machinery.

In the style of US political conventions - there was a roll call with each constituency showing off that machinery. A touch of stagecraft that denoted a progressive departure from standard practice at conventions where the candidates speak from the stage.

Courtney Menzies:
"How has the campaign trail been going for you?"

Kareem Musa, PUP Standard Bearer, Caribbean Shores
"It's been going excellent so far, my team has been on the ground over the last 3 weeks. The reception has been overwhelmingly positive and we're very confident that we will deliver come Election Day."

Courtney Menzies:
"You said in your speech that it will be the biggest win in Caribbean Shores, what makes you so confident?"

Kareem Musa, PUP Standard Bearer, Caribbean Shores
"Well, the reception of the people, I think that our track record in Caribbean Shores over the last 5 years speaks for itself, they have seen all the major improvements, especially to the parks in our community, the education assistance for the young people, the healthcare assistance, the rolling out of NHI, concrete homes, land for the landless, first time landowners received 400, we have out 400 land titles to first time landowners. I think the improvements are there the track record speaks for itself and like I said, the people of Caribbean Shores have been telling us, every house we go, we're going to get the vote."

Courtney Menzies:
"How confident are you that you can win over Queen Square?"

Dr Lorna McKay, PUP Standard Bearer, Queen Square
"We will bring in Queen Square, people are changing. There is a blue wave in Queen Square, we will deliver."

"The campaign has been very positive, people are responding, people want the change, and we will bring in Queen Square."

Courtney Menzies:
"How does it feel trying to follow in your father's footsteps?"

Marconi Leal Jr., PUP Standard Bearer, BRN
"Definitely I'm happy to be able to continue to serve after him."

Courtney Menzies:
"Was it a hard decision taking up the role after your father fell sick?"

Marconi Leal Jr., PUP Standard Bearer, BRN
"Well, I've been the chairman of his executive, serving the 25 villages for the past 4 years so it's a continuation of the work and my dad is working with me so we're definitely going to continue to serve together."

Courtney Menzies:
"How long have you been campaigning?"

Thea Garcia Ramirez, PUP Standard Bearer, Corozal Bay
"Well you know campaign never stops, I've been campaigning since the convention, you know we had convention and we continue the work, we've kept the pace, and now we're stepping it up the last two or three weeks now."

Courtney Menzies:
"What's the campaign trail been like for you when you're in your area?"

Dolores Balderamos Garcia, PUP Standard Bearer, BRC
"We have had some challenges because the rains, the constant rains have done damage to all the streets, however, it's unprecedented the amount of work we have put into the various villages. I can give you an example of just Western Paradise. We have done drainage, we have done sports activities and lighting, we have done play station, we have done helping people with education, renovating the community center. We have done a tremendous amount in all the villages."

"A lot more work is left to do but we are up for the task."

Ramiro Ramirez, PUP Standard Bearer, Corozal Southwest
"My constituency, I know we were way behind and now we can see the transformation and we're going to continue with that transformation. First of all, we have a market going on, we have a police station going on, and fighting for another school in San Narciso, Libertad, again, a police station, Concepcion we're on the go with a complex, Santa Clara we're going to do the new sign plus another complex, Buena Vista is the same thing, another complex, and when we finalize that in this term of 5 years, of course one of the priorities is jobs. We're going to look forward to get some industries in the Corozal Southwest division."

Courtney Menzies:
"Why did you decide to run in the Albert constituency, what about it has your heart?"

Kaya Cattouse, PUP Standard Bearer, Albert
"Moving from local government to central government, the Albert constituency is the most unique constituency within Belize City. Working with the people seeing the conditions that they live in and having my life been of service to the people I just need to get into that constituency and show them the TLC that they have been lacking for the past 3 terms."

But will those red divisions turn blue - and can this be a historic elections for the PUP?

Kareem Musa, PUP Standard Bearer, Caribbean Shores
"I am expecting based on the results and based on the infighting of the UDP that it is now very possible that we could see 31 seats going for the PUP."

Courtney Menzies:
"That doesn't sound good for Belize though."

Kareem Musa, PUP Standard Bearer, Caribbean Shores
"Well we've been a party that has delivered over the last 5 years and we're going to be executing more of Plan Belize in the years ahead so I think it sounds good for Belize actually, all 31."

Courtney Menzies:
"Do you think it'll be a historic win considering the state of the opposition and some people are saying maybe even all 31 seats will be blue?"

John Briceno, Prime Minister
"We fight for every seat and we fight for 31 seats but that is left for the Belizean people to decide. We don't run based on the opposition, we run based on what we have done and I sincerely believe that we have been a successful government, that we have delivered under Plan Belize and from the economy, from unemployment to reducing poverty, the increase of the minimum wage, NHI, free education, infrastructure development, land, housing, even internationally people are looking at Belize with a different set of eyes, with more respect and as a country that is getting things done. We're small but we're punching above our weight."

Courtney Menzies:
"With everything happening in the UDP, do you feel like this will be an easy win?"

Cordel Hyde, Deputy Prime Minister
"We don't pay attention to the UDP soap opera, we can't take anything for granted, we can't take any elections for granted, we have to focus on the work we have to do, it's about having a conversation with the people of Belize, that's a side show, we can't pay attention to that."

And riding this wave of support, in 23 days - we'll see how many of them make it safely to shore.

The PUP's campaign manager told us they had 122 buses along with robust representation from the city. We put the crowd at 7,500, she told us - by their count - it was twice that.