Last night we showed you what the run up to elections looks like in Benque Viejo. Tonight we take you to Santa Elena/San Ignacio where, the UDP is the incumbent and the PUP is the challenger. Both sides are sure of victory, but for the red, it is an absolute necessity, while for the pup it would be a great political grab, sure to destabilize the UDP in the west. So who'll get glory and who'll get got? That's what Alfonso Noble went west to find out.
Alfonso Noble Reporting,
If the countless banners and political placards don't say it's election season clearly enough, maybe this defaced billboard or even the hand that central government is pitching in to fix the streets of San Igancio say that come Wednesday of next week, municipal elections are here. In San Ignacio the PUP and the UDP are in high gear making contact with the people catching them even at odd times. For this woman it meant interruptions while she was making tortillas.
Nelson Tillet, PUP Mayoral Candidate for San Ignacio/Santa Elena
"The campaigning here is going very well, I must say very well. We are positive that there will be a change of town council come first of March. We're going to go blue."
John August, UDP Mayoral Candidate for San Ignacio/Santa Elena
"Our campaign has been going excellent. We have been doing a thorough house to house campaign for the last two months and we've been received very well."
But that's just individual perception and in the end, the only ones able to tell how well it is going for either political party is the electorate. But they are not immune to influence and the message being brought to them over the past months is crucial. For the PUP, it's all about micro politics.
Nelson Tillet,
"Even the UDP's are frustrated with the present town council because they have been there for three years and done nothing. So everybody gets affected when we put people in place and do nothing so we have UDP town council right now that sat in the office for three years and didn't even fix one street or one drain. We don't have any pressure, people just want a change; even the opposition wants a change right now.
There is no issue nationally. We are not being pressured over national issues because what is affecting Santa Elena and San Ignacio is a present local issue, the town council. So we are sticking to that and we are pledging to people that we'll do a much better job than the present UDP town council so national issues are not an issue right now."
The opposition however thinks differently and is campaigning differently. Their billboards and even the individual messages brought to the people are all about the national issues.
John August,
"The national issues are the biggest issues and I don't see we should lose focus of that in San Ignacio and Santa Elena. People are feeling the pinch in their pockets, people are tired of the corruption, people are tired of the lies, people want to see a change in leadership overall from the top. The national issues like we said earlier they affect everybody, they touch us in our pockets. You can see the high cost of electricity, water, and in different areas the foodstuff you buy at the supermarkets; everything is so expensive. But apart from that, like I said, we do have a very good team in San Ignacio."
Whether that is true or not is yet to be determined but what can be said about the UDP in this municipality is that its national leadership will be looking at them to hold the fort to prove the UDP's strength in this, one of their most crucial elections. August is very aware of this:
John August,
"I think a lot of people will be looking at us very carefully and they'll be judging us so myself and my team will have to prove a lot. We want to prove that the UDP is a party capable of governing and not only that but we can bring good governance to the country. I think that is paramount, I think that is what people are looking for in these times we are living right now and we will deliver on that."
In the end however both these political parties can say one thing.
John August,
"People are confident in our leadership, they have confidence in our honesty, and they have confidence in our ability that my myself, the mayoral candidate, and my city councilors can get the job done."
Nelson Tillet,
"We are confident that we're going to win. The PUP 7 is going to be victorious."
Tune in tomorrow for more pre-election previews.
