And as you heard, the chairman didn't answer. But he did tell us that the ruling party had a bumper crop of candidates, a total of 125 applications countrywide, comprising 24 applications for mayor and 101 applications for councillor candidates. 23 of those councillor applications are in Belize City.
We asked the Prime Minister if this rush of candidates is a product of the "time fu eat" phenomenon where supporters see their party in power and want to get cut in on the action:
Jules Vasquez
"Is this indicative of the culture in politics that many interpret from the outside, well, da time for eat, PUP deh inna powa now, looks like they'll be in power for a little while. So, mek wi get in this and just start eat."
John Briceno, Prime Minister
"That's your cynical view. Very cynical, extremely. I hope it doesn't rub off on the young people. We need to be optimistic in this country. Optimism can help us move forward. That cynicism."
"But the truth is that a lot of people, when they run, they want to win. And in 2009, a lot of people said, if I run, I think I'll lose. So why would I run? People run to win. It's not about to eat. It's about to be able to serve."
"But if I would not be able to win and serve, so why waste my time? It's just a cycle in politics, unfortunately. And in this moment, the PUP is in a very strong position. We've been doing very well by every metrics."
"Even you, grudgingly, would accept that. Far from perfect. We could do more, of course, we can."
