Two weeks into Village Council elections and already we see the signs of political gamesmanship rearing its head.
When the PUP changed the Village Council Act in 2000 the idea was to give more autonomy to the local communities, encourage greater participation and bring the people of them together so that they could make decisions about the future of their communities.
So how did we go from empowering a community based movement to press releases about who is winning and who is losing and who da PUP and who da UDP in these elections? While the spirit of the Village Council Act hoped for greater participation and democracy, it is clear it was never meant for these elections to become politicized much less to become a litmus test for the government or the opposition.
By the time the whole process of village council elections are over, more than 190 villages or communities would have held elections. Included in these 190 of so elections are some villages with more than 2000 voters and communities with 60. Whether the voters list has 2000 voters or 90, the process is the same. A very simple process with strokes on a backboard and numbers on a slip of paper, these elections were never meant to be hotly contested events where political parties and legal advisors hover over the process. There is no Nomination Day, deposits from candidates or any of those rules which govern a general or municipal election. There are no campaign managers and strategists crunching numbers and interpreting data. In fact in most of these elections it is more of a social event than an election that determines people's future.
At last Sunday's election in Trial Farm, one of the larger communities with over 2000 voters, the mood was energetic and for the most part fun. The Party Leader exchanged pleasantries with UDP Ministers; villagers moved in and out of the polls; there was music, political banter and an occasional raising of voices. Both sides dished out a little red meat or blue meat, but in the end it was all in good fun and in the end the winners celebrated and those who were not successful shook hands and accepted defeat with dignity. The winners graciously accepted the mantle and are now settling into their three year term of office.
In the south, in Hopkins, Placencia and other large villages a similar scene played out and just as in Trial Farm, when the strokes on the blackboard were counted and incumbent village councils fell to new blood, the transition was smooth and thoughts are now quickly shifting to upcoming events like lobster fest and village fiestas.
So what is all the hype and spin about? Why is the UDP issuing releases and chairpersons with villages with 60 voters calling talk shows to declare their political allegiance? A lot of this is because of the pressure that is on those UDP ministers who are hoping to score political points with the Prime Minister. When the Prime Minister announced that he will shake up his cabinet, some of his ministers trembled; others saw opportunity knocking. Those UDP representatives with rural communities want to prove to their PM that they still have the support of their people, so representatives like Clear the Land will do anything to show victories, even when some of these communities are saying we want the partisanship out of our village council elections.
With a media that feeds off political news, all this plays well and so the drama will continue, which means that for the next 8 or more Sundays, the fever and the passion to prove their mettle will see more theatrics, more antics and more calls to the talk shows.
When it is all said and done, the one thing that none of these UDP politicians will be able to hide is the continued dissatisfaction being felt by the Belizean people in both the urban and rural communities. A dissatisfaction that is the result of more burdensome taxes, higher cost of living, and the crime situation which has overtaken our communities. And there is no need for any election to serve as a litmus test on these issues.
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Source: The Belize Times
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