It's the year of the third party; we've already told you about the VIP, then the PNP, and now the NRP. It's the National Reform Party which today officially launched its candidacy for the next general elections. If we are to judge by today's event we'd say the new party is from the Christian right, basing its constitution on the family structure and the fear of God. We were at the launch, here's a report.
Alfonso Noble Reporting,
With the playing of the National Reform Party's theme song and its overtly Christian themes, the NRP launched its effort to contest the upcoming general elections. The party officially presented 9 candidates to run in 5 districts.
[NRP Members Singing.]
Estevan,
"Three basic principles we have that govern this party. We are very family oriented. We believe that a healthy family structure is the foundation for a strong nation. We believe in the truth, nothing but the truth. We work hard on getting the facts about any issue before we confront such issue. We believe that a leader is a servant. The word leader arise from a Greek word which brings us to a place of understanding that leadership means servant. We seek solely to recruit men and women of high moral standard, people that have a track record in integrity, impurity. We believe strongly that without strong morals and ethic values, it will be impossible to lead a nation."
And the man that has taken up that mantle for the NRP is Cornelius Dueck and by all appearances he's the bedrock of the party and is the one who members are emulating. He began his address by emphasizing that the three principles are not only a standard of the party but his own.
[Cornelius Dueck Introducing Family]
Cornelius Dueck, NRP Leader
"I am a Christian, I am a son of God, but I am not a religious person. I know I have a purpose here and my purpose was chosen before the foundation of this earth was laid. A leader of a ministry that's called Streets of Living Water Ministries in Spanish Lookout. I have helped many people in Spanish Lookout to understand their purpose for their life and many people all around this country. My last two years I have been working as a missionary going to different countries and I have been delivering Bibles in Honduras by the thousands. Now God has called me for a new task to bring a change to our nation. My brothers from the National Reform Party, we have made a decree to our God. We who remind the Lord, we will take no rest for ourselves and we will give him no rest until he has established and make Belize a praise in the earth, if it doesn't work, we'll fix it. If it doesn't work, fix it."
And the way this new party is going to fix it is by first winning the general elections and they are going to do so with long dollars. Dollars from financiers that at this point will not be made public.
Cornelius Dueck,
"Some of our members from the core group have given quite a bit of their funds for it. We have business people in Belize that help us finance it. I have done quite a bit on my own. I have a savings in different countries that I will bring to Belize eventually. We know that the UDP and the PUP they spend in the area of fifty to a hundred million dollars for an election and we are here to contest them."
Ann-Marie Williams, Reporter Press
"Since they spend in the region of fifty to one hundred million dollars, what do you project to spend?
Cornelius Dueck,
"We are not expecting to stay behind."
Ann-Marie Williams,
"Would you be comfortable with disclosing what individuals are supporting you?"
Cornelius Dueck,
"Umm I would first have to ask them if it is right for them to expose it."
Ann-Marie Williams,
"Would you be disclosing perhaps at some date time in the future who are campaign financers?"
Cornelius Dueck,
"Well we could ask some of them if it is alright for them to expose them."
Ann-Marie Williams,
"Would it be a policy of yours to be completely transparent with who is funding the party?"
Cornelius Dueck,
"Yes our goal is to be transparent."
Ann-Marie Williams,
"So all financiers will eventually have to come to the forefront?"
Cornelius Dueck,
"I don't at this moment. We are very careful from whom we receive a dollar. If we have, if we are suspicious that any person has any illegal money, we would never accept a dollar and if we have to commit ourselves we will not take it."
And with money secured for the next general elections it's now a matter of having seats filled. Dueck says those will be easily filled the first priority for his party right now is to get itself known.
Cornelius Dueck,
"The NRP is well known, almost anywhere in this country already."
Alfonso Noble,
So you are hoping that people, the general public will be voting for a party and not individual? Is that what you are telling me here?
Cornelius Dueck,
"Sir our awareness campaign is just to let them know there is a new party available and as time goes on, we will have them exposed. They will come out of their closets. If elections were to be called today, we would have thirty one candidates on the field within a few days."
And so enters this party into the race for 2008, it has a clean cut finish, bright colors, slick packaging and it positions itself on high moral ground putting God first, and behind it all, money seems to be in the war chest. It is now to be seen if all this will pay off at the polls where mass appeal is an intangible that so far has been monopolized by the mass parties.
And in case you're wondering, at the conference the PNP displayed two flags one being the National Christian Flag and the other an Israeli flag. While Dueck says the party has no affiliation with Israel, he quotes the Bible saying that anyone who blesses Israel will be blessed and any one who curses it will be cursed. This raises two notes: the current Prime Minister is of proud Palestinian descent, and Israel has been a long standing supporter of Guatemala.
