Voter Sentiment Shifts: Major Leaders Lose Ground in Dangriga

Growing frustration is simmering in Dangriga tonight, where a new opinion poll is showing slipping support for some of the town’s most prominent political figures, among them Area Representative Dr. Louis Zabaneh, Mayor Robert Mariano, and even Prime Minister John Briceño. The survey, carried out by retired assistant professor Dr. Philip Castillo, marks a sharp turn from the strong endorsements these leaders enjoyed in past elections. Castillo has been tracking public sentiment in Dangriga for the past six years, and this latest snapshot suggests voters are questioning everything from accessibility to performance, as priorities continue to shift across the culture capital and surrounding communities. News Five’s Paul Lopez takes a closer look.

 

Paul Lopez, Reporting

Tonight, in Dangriga, a wave of voter dissatisfaction is hitting local and national leaders alike, Mayor Robert Mariano, Area Representative Dr. Louis Zabaneh, and even Prime Minister John Briceño. A new survey by pollster and retired assistant professor Dr. Philip Castillo shows support for Dr. Zabaneh has plunged dramatically. Remember, he won big in 2020 with 61% of the vote, and his popularity soared even higher in 2025, when he secured 76.5%. But Dr. Castillo’s latest polling tells a very different story, one that suggests confidence in these leaders is slipping fast.

 

Dr. Philip Castillo, Retired Assistant Professor

“He is under water because I think he is at forty-one percent. Forty-one percent four out of every ten voters do not approve of the job he is doing. Again, we did not ask them why, but some citizens did provide an opinion. The opinions were in terms of accessing the area rep, there seems to be challenges in accessing him and meeting him and that specific issue.”

 

A closer look at the numbers shows Dr. Zabaneh lost support in Dangriga Town and Sarawee, but he’s still strong in outlying villages like Hope Creek. Responding to the poll, Dr. Zabaneh says he welcomes Dr. Castillo’s work, but argues that data collected closer to election time gives a truer read on how voters will actually decide.

 

Dr. Louis Zabaneh, Area Representative, Dangriga

“First of all the size of the poll is relatively, but still helpful so I am not knocking it in that sense. But if you look at the last polls he has done they have been consistently lower that the actual performance. So, in my view I don’t believe that the numbers are that low, but even if they were, it is good to know so that you can take action.”

Paul Lopez

“One of the things people were saying is that you are hard to access.”

 

Dr. Louis Zabaneh

“Yes and that is the one that seems furthest from the truth. I am one of the area representatives that has consistent office hours. So on Thursdays, like for example tomorrow, I am at the office. I have an office that is open from Monday to Friday so that persons can go and they do go in. So beside the office hours on Thursday, I also visit on Saturdays because we have Dangriga, Sarawee and Hope Creek.”

 

Voters were also asked how they feel about the job Dangriga Mayor Mariano is doing. He first won the mayoral seat with 51% of the vote in 2021 and boosted his support to 63% in 2024. But today, his approval shows a slight dip from where he started back in 2021.

 

Dr. Philip Castillo

“He faces election next year, 2027. So, what the poll found this year is that he is back around forty-eight-point nine percent, just about fifty percent. But a poll has something called a margin of error, meaning that forty-eight percent could be as high as forty-eight plus six or forty-eight minus six. Seventeen percent did not have an opinion. They said not sure or they are uncertain.”

 

Voters also pointed to some persistent concerns in the municipality, they want better streets, improved garbage collection, and real action on unemployment, which many say remains a constant challenge. When we reached out to Mayor Mariano for a response, he told us, quote, “I am appreciative of Doctor Phillip Castillo and although the next Town Council elections are a little over a year away, and notwithstanding a lot can change within that time, I humbled by the favorable poll survey and results at this point in time… We are grateful for the public opinion and will do whatever we can to address their concerns.” But the most striking number in this poll is the prime minister’s approval rating in Dangriga. When voters were asked whether they approve of the job Prime Minister John Briceño is doing, just over half said they do not.

 

Dr. Philip Castillo

“I think it is only twenty percent. That is one in every five voters approve of the job that the prime minister is doing as prime minister. A similar percentage are not sure, but a substantially larger percentage say that they do not approve of the job he is doing at this point in time.”

 

Paul Lopez

“Is that in your observation a decrease in his approval ratings in Dangriga?”

 

Dr. Phillip Castillo

“No, I can’t answer that question because to the best of my knowledge this is the first ever poll being done of the approval rating of the prime minister, so there is no comparable data.”

 

For the prime minister, though, this poll may not move the needle. His political fate ultimately rests with voters in Orange Walk Central, the constituency that decides his future at the ballot box. Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.