Now, Dr Barnett is the one who will have to be "moving faster" - but in the Freetown division - where she has put her name in for the convention to be returned as the UDP standard bearer. Now she has a new challenger, OJ Elrington. The attorney at law was a campaigner in the division under Barnett - but now, he plans to unseat her. He told us why:...
OJ Elrington, UDP Freetown Aspirant
"I have decided to put in my name as a candidate to be the UDP standard bearer for Freetown Division."
Reporter
"What makes you think you will be successful?"
OJ Elrington, UDP Freetown Aspirant
"I think that my team that we have assembled is second to none. It is the team which has been the backbone for Freetown for many years."
Reporter
"Dr. Carla Barnett who is currently running in Freetown for the UDP before convention season was the first to put in her name. She intends to contest the division. Why have you chosen to take on the good doctor?"
OJ Elrington, UDP Freetown Aspirant
"First and foremost Dr. Carla Barnett has been an exemplary public servant. She is a woman for whom I have great respect, a woman who I think has served this country to the utmost of her ability and I a person for whom I have great regard. However, I believe that I have the necessary tools, I have the necessary energy, I have the necessary team like I said that will allow us to be successful in a convention. We have none other than the former standard bearer in that division, the person who has assembled, who has been the backbone of that division for the past decade."
Reporter
"I'm saying that all these people you are mentioning, it seems like you are raiding the Freetown committee."
OJ Elrington, UDP Freetown Aspirant
"Well again, this was a ground up approach. I was asked and pleaded to and pronged and everything under the sun to be the representative for the Freetown Division."
Li Mark Chan, Former Freetown UDP Candidate
"First of all Jules, I have the utmost respect for Dr. Carla Barnett. I believe she is a worker and a fighter for the people, but I firmly believe that we need new energy, young blood, somebody who is trying to make even more of a difference in the division. Freetown is always at my heart and I was asked to run in the division again. But because of my business and my family I had to politely say I cannot, but then we found OJ and OJ lobbied me and the rest is history."
And while Barnett is his first hurdle, the real challenge is unseating the incumbent Francis Fonseca. He's the undefeated four term PUP representative - who had said he would be returning from politics, but the smart money says he's not retiring, and will be back for a fifth term.
We asked Elrington and Chang how they would hope to beat him:...
Reporter
"You are trying to do what political observers might say is impossible. You are trying to unseat Francis Fonseca. Many years people have said he is vulnerable, you could bring him down, he boring. But Francis Fonseca is a very successful politician. He has held on to that seat for 4-5 terms now. He is not easy to beat. As long as he wants to win that division you are not going to beat him."
OJ Elrington, UDP Freetown Aspirant
"Well I wouldn't say we are not going to beat him, but what I would say is that I think that the people in that division have been fed up. Are now completely fed up with the fact that they have not gotten the necessary service in that division."
Reporter
"What makes you think he will have success there? Many have tried and many have failed. I think of Doug Singh, I think of Mike Peyrefitte, I think of Dr. Barnett, I think of yourself. It's not an easy division to flip."
Li Mark Chan, Former Freetown UDP Candidate
"Any division is not an easy division to flip, but don't forget we have the new re-registration coming up and that's where all the list will be cleaned up. I think we had some difficulty with the old list, but now it's a fresh start. So may the hardest worker prevailed."
Reporter
"Real talk. The UDP has been consistently losing ground in Freetown Division. If you watch just between the 2015 general and the 2018 municipals, there was significant slippage of UDP support in that division. At the same time the UDP has been in office for 10 years. By the time the next general come it will be for 12 years. I'm saying that all of these things indicate that you will not regain more popularity in year 11 and year 12 even with a new list."
Li Mark Chan, Former Freetown UDP Candidate
"The thing is that ever since the election I believe that there wasn't enough resources allocated or much attention allocated to Freetown. Hence the reason why I think we need a change. We need young blood, we need energy in the division to make sure that the people understand that this UDP government is trying to work for the people of Belize."
Reporter
"You think you all will be successful in communicating that in year 11?"
Li Mark Chan, Former Freetown UDP Candidate
"Nothing beats a trial than a failure Jules. We always have to try."
The convention will be held closer to the end of this year.
