As you heard, both UDP Mayor Trapp and Councillor Fernandez now enter their 7th term as members of the San Ignacio Santa Elena Town Council.
It's a notable accomplishment, but today we asked the UDP Party Leader if they are making too much of a big deal about it - all things considered:
Jules Vasquez, reporter
"Mr. Leader of the Opposition you are here for the swearing in of 2 councilors. This is all you have left. Has to be an empty feeling that the once mighty UDP which controlled 41 municipal seats is now down to just 2."
Hon. Patrick Faber, Leader of the Opposition
"Well it is not a mayor, 2 councilors, it is a mayor and one of the best councilors this country has ever seen."
Jules Vasquez, reporter
"If we could speak about in broader terms the UDP was wiped out completely. Went from 41 seats to 2 seats, third party status in Punta Gorda, 4-1 in Orange Walk..."
Hon. Patrick Faber, Leader of the Opposition
"This is what you and other media people continue to use as the base for what happened last Wednesday. Those who want to use 3 years ago for a measuring stick what the UDPs worth is to the people of Belize - it's not an accurate measure. The measure has to be what happened in November of last year. My point to you is that at very least you can put us in the same position, but you can't put us any worse. You are trying to paint a picture that oh my goodness it is..."
Jules Vasquez, reporter
"...it is the worst wipeout in municipal elections history. Nobody has ever gone from 41 to 2."
Hon. Patrick Faber, Leader of the Opposition
"Let me paint the picture further for those who are younger than you and I and may not be up to the same kind of mischief that you are up to, that it is not abnormal for after the kind of loss in a mass party in a general elections that this kind of victory comes for the municipal elections."
Jules Vasquez, reporter
"The PUP in 2009 wasn't this bad. They held on to 3."
Hon. Patrick Faber, Leader of the Opposition
"If we look at the municipal elections of 1999 and if we look at those municipal elections that followed the 2008 general elections, you will see that this is, because one or two went more - that's your point?"
Jules Vasquez, reporter
"No sir, because I am saying those defeats were incremental. The UDP had already slipped from 1996, so 1999 was a foregone conclusion, 1999 and 2000."
Hon. Patrick Faber, Leader of the Opposition
"My point is this: the work of rebuilding the party it's not overnight work. The work of rebuilding the party is difficult, its long, its tedious, it's not going to take us 13 years and it is far too premature for you or anybody else to judge the UDP based on only 3 months in its current state."
Jules Vasquez, reporter
"Of the overall total votes, you all are down to 36%, down from 37.4%. That is the lowest recorded for a mass party in the modern era. My question to you is sir you are instead of picking up a little, you are losing momentum."
Hon. Patrick Faber, Leader of the Opposition
"I have said this to you a long time ago and you said you wouldn't ne argumentative, but clearly you are being - don't be too concern with where we are, you should concern yourself with the fact that when we rise, it will be very magnificent. That's what I say to the PUP, when they boast about their large victory that they had, but how long did it take you to get there and you only won because the people lost confidence in the UDP. When the UDP wins it will be because people have confidence in the UDP. As you know people have already lost confidence in this administration."
Jules Vasquez, reporter
"But people don't have confidence in the UDP. That's where it's at. When you see those numbers 36% voted for the UDP that means your supporters aren't..."
Hon. Patrick Faber, Leader of the Opposition
"Why do you hark on the obvious. It is plain that people demonstrated that in November. It is plain that it is only 3 short months that went by. It is no time in terms of the kind of time that is needed to build a party."
Jules Vasquez, reporter
"Have the sins of Mr. Barrow being visited on your leadership?"
Hon. Patrick Faber, Leader of the Opposition
"There are no sins of Mr. Barrow. There are things that happened, I think widely in the UDP that people were not happy about."
Thank you to TBSL for sharing various elections maps, apps and infographics created through the ArcGIS Technology.
You can find more of this on their website.
