Attorney Oscar Selgado was found guilty of abetment to commit murder by the High Court a few minutes ago. The Justice found that Selgado tried to hire Giovanni Ramirez to murder Marilyn Barnes in 2019. Barnesi had filed a complaint against Selgado to the General Legal Council.
Selgado was represented by Adolph Lucas Sr. The prosecution was represented by Director of Public Prosecution Cheryl Lynn Vidal.
Continue reading BREAKING: Attorney Oscar Selgado Found Guilty
At least one person was injured following a motorcycle crash on the Iguana Creek Road in the Cayo District. Video shows one man receiving medical attention at the scene. The victim has been identified as Mario Martinez. The other man who has been identified as alert Quell is unharmed. According to Quell, he was riding with his brother on Iguana Creek Road when Martinez came speeding into him. Quell says he was unable to avoid Martinez.
More details to follow…
The People’s United Party remains on top after steamrolling all political opponents, including the United Democratic Party which it soundly defeated during the municipal elections on Wednesday. Tonight, we’ll begin with a recap of what transpired across the country on election day and how the blue machine overwhelmed the U.D.P. across all cities and towns with the exception of San Ignacio/Santa Elena. We’ll also show you what the Opposition Leader says following the stunning loss at the polls. Here’s News Five’s Isani Cayetano to begin our post election coverage.
The opposition, as well as all third parties and independent candidates, was walloped at the polls on Wednesday by the People’s United Party. In hindsight, this bold prediction, initially made on Nomination Day by Party Leader Shyne Barrow, will likely go down in history as egg on his face.
Isani Cayetano
“What is your confidence on the ground, in terms of the municipal slates across all nine cities and towns.”
Shyne Barrow, Leader, United Democratic Party (File: February 21st, 2024)
“I want the Belizean people to see, with all humility, this is my projection. Nine, nine municipalities and it is not farfetched. There was a time where the United Democratic Party administered all nine municipality and no municipality was out of reach.”
Despite its best efforts, the United Democratic Party was trounced in Belize City, one of the most hotly contested municipalities in the country. By the time the ballots were being counted, halfway through the process, the PUP had already claimed victory over the Old Capital.
Bernard Wagner, Returning Mayor, Belize City
“I always have to say thank you to the people of Belize City and I also have to thank God, he has been the person behind me. I have to thank my family, I have to thank all the people of Belize City. But clearly, some of the indicators, essentially, are really significant from some of the key polling areas, constituencies of Lake-I, Pickstock, Freetown, Caribbean Shores. Clearly those numbers that we are seeing and are being forwarded to myself, we’re looking, pretty, pretty good.”
A total of four hundred and fifty-two thousand, seventy-three ballots were cast during yesterday’s elections in Belize City. Of that amount, roughly sixty-three percent of votes were in favor of the ruling People’s United Party. For the UDP, things got off to a slow start and ended in much the same way.
Dr. Nelma Jones Mortis, U.D.P. Mayoral Candidate, Belize City
“If you notice, I think, thus far, when I checked, I think about three hundred and twenty of our pledges have cast their vote. Each standard bearer is responsible for their constituency and for bringing out the vote. We collaborate with them, in terms of when people approach us, we pass it on to the standard bearers. So each standard bearer has their machinery set up.”
It’s the same approach that was employed by the P.U.P. area representatives. In Freetown, Francis Fonseca was able to secure seventy-six percent of the twenty thousand, eight hundred and five votes. In contrast, the UDP only had four thousand, two hundred and seven votes, or roughly twenty percent of that total.
Francis Fonseca, Area Representative, Freetown
“So we have a very experienced team in Freetown and so we have a very clear plan. So today has been all about executing that plan. You know, we’ve been campaigning with the team with Mayor Wagner and the city council team over the past few months, since the start of the year, and the campaign has been very good. They’ve been warmly received in Freetown, both in Belama and here in King’s Park.”
Taken as a whole, the turnout in Belize City, as in other municipalities, was lower than expected.
Alisha Craig, U.D.P. Councilor Candidate, Belize City
“I wish it was higher. I just checked the polls and they say it’s only about nine thousand out of thirty thousand. So, you know, that’s not really good, but maybe it’s a good sign as well. Like I said, that’s where the machinery, getting your taxis and everything in place to get out your voters. I think that’s what’s going to decide who wins the elections.”
Dr. Nelma Mortis
“ I was a bit disappointed in the low voters turnout, but I walked in confidence and I walked in confidence because I have put in the work and I have shared my vision and it’s up to the workers to decide who or what they expect for Belize City. And so, I did my best. I’ll be Nelma Mortis tomorrow, the same Nelma Mortis tomorrow.”
Eluide Miller, P.U.P. Councilor Candidate, Belize City
“I’m feeling very excited seeing our residents flowing in to cast their votes. It’s a really beautiful moment and so we’ve been working very hard over the past couple weeks, past couple months and so it all comes down to today. Today is what matters most. I am very excited and yeah, I’m happy.”
Ultimately, returning mayor Bernard Wagner has secured a third term in office, along with his team of ten councilors, five of whom are carrying over from the previous Belize City Council.
Isani Cayetano
“It’s rare that we see, if perhaps not the first time that we’re seeing someone go for three consecutive terms in municipal office.”
“I am telling you it’s overwhelming for me, personally. Really overwhelming. When I started in 2018, I could never conceive in my own mind that at some point in time I would be grappling with the idea of being a three-term mayor. But I believe in the will of the people and clearly the people in Belize City have spoken resoundingly again. And so, we are really excited to be able to serve the people again.”
Isani Cayetano for News Five.
The entire People’s United Party’s slate won convincingly in the City of Belmopan. This is the second straight municipal victory for the P.U.P. in the Capital City. In a municipality with ten thousand registered voters, fifty-five percent showed up to cast their ballots. That is a two percent increase from the 2021 municipal elections voters’ turnout. But unlike past years, the majority of those registered voters were from Belmopan East, where both Mayor Elect Pablo Cawich and Area Representative Oscar Mira reside. This is also the second consecutive loss for Jacklyn Burns as the United Democratic Party’s mayoral candidate in Belmopan. News Five’s Paul Lopez was in the Garden City. He filed the following report.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
Belmopan voters began streaming into their respective polling stations as early as seven a.m. when the polls were opened. Between seven and eight a.m., a total of five hundred and seventy-nine voters had already cast their ballots. We spoke with a few voters to get a sense of their thought process going into the polling stations.
Jasmine Rhamdas, Belmopan Voter
“I look for someone like myself, a leader, someone that goes out and work for us, I don’t want anyone to think about themselves. Because being mayor or councilor we need you guys to step up and work for the community.”
Christopher Broaster, Belmopan Voter
“Election time is one of those important time of the year where we come out to make our voices be heard and to put in the people that we believe will help move our area forward you know.”
Both political camps had their machineries on the ground working. And if the number of political shirts on each side was a foreshadowing of how the day would end, the People’s United Party would have won at the start of the elections. But, the polls were still open and both slates remained confident of a victory.
Chris Enriquez, P.U.P. Councilor Elect, Belmopan
“I think our supporters are coming out. So far like I said this morning was a bit slow but it is starting to pick up. This afternoon we are going to see majority of our supporters are out. We are confident and we are just going to wait until the results are out.”
Jacklyn Burns, U.D.P. Mayoral Candidate, Belmopan
“You know when you do your homework you are confident in the grade you are going to get. I have done my homework. I have walked in many house as I could. Now it is just to get our voters out to cast their votes.”
The lowest number of voter turnout was between twelve and one p.m., but those numbers began to increase throughout the afternoon. And by five p.m. more than four thousand Belmopan voters had already cast their votes.
Pablo Cawich, P.U.P. Mayor Elect, Belmopan
“The day in my view went very well. The machinery executed what it had to do and in our view this victory has been sealed.”
Jacklyn Burns
“You know when you do your homework you don’t get scared when the teacher asked the tough questions. I am like eight-five percent confident, that is where it is.”
John Saldivar, Former U.D.P. Area Rep, Belmopan
“Now I am coming to vote. I will put my ex there for my team. All morning I have been working hard to make sure that things work out well and I am very happy with the results so far and I am waiting on the counting, I am very confident.”
Polling stations closed at six p.m. At the end of the day a total of five thousand, five hundred and eighty-five registered voters exercised their democratic right in Belmopan. Boxes from two other polling stations began arriving at the counting station an hour later and the counting process officially began. By nine p.m., unofficial numbers began trickling out of the counting room. Early indications were that Cawich and his team were in the lead, much to the delight of the PUP supporters who were on the outside waiting. Three hours into the counting process, Area Representative Oscar Mira emerged to unofficially declare victory for the PUP in Belmopan.
Oscar Mira, Area Representative, Belmopan
“Unofficially but we have won in Belmopan, the east has won significantly, the west has won significantly, in central we were even, we won north. Unofficially, but in Belmopan the People’s United Party remains in City Council.”
But it was not until midnight that the official counting process was over and a winner was declared in the Capital City. Chris Enriquez received the most votes for the day, while most of Cawich’s slate won by five hundred to a thousand votes.
“The first thing we need to do is to get into the city council and start doing an analysis as to what is presently in place and what has been happening over the past term.”
Jackyln Burns
“The people have spoken. This is the electoral process, congratulations to the winners. I need time to sleep, with that said goodnight.”
Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.
The harmony between the municipal and central government, based on the party in power, has been a topic of much discussion leading up to yesterday’s national vote. While it can be argued that municipalities should remain autonomous, it can also be debated that the alignment of both forms of government bodes well for initiatives being undertaken in all cities and town. Prime Minister John Briceño believes in the positioning of both entities for optimal performance.
Prime Minister John Briceño
“I think it speaks well for the party, both a national and local level because we have been ensuring that we are performing at the local level and one of the things that we did when we had a meeting with all of the mayoral candidates about three Mondays ago. And we’re telling them now that at the national level, I think that we have even a greater responsibility to be able to monitor them closer to ensure that they are living up to the manifesto promises and that also they can be managing the finances as best as possible, as efficient as possible and then we could join with them, that we believe we can do a lot more. For instance, my community development fund , I give twelve thousand of my community development fund, I pass it on to the town council because then we could double that money because we could buy materials with the money that that provides and the town council has the manpower to be able to do whatever small projects we want to do. Also this speaks well for central government because it shows that people are feeling the good work of what we’re doing, reducing unemployment by 3.2%, reducing the national debt from a 133% to 63% to be able to grow the economy much faster than IMF ever thought possible. These things have a positive effect on the lives of people.”
As we reported earlier, Leader of the Opposition, Moses “Shyne” Barrow predicted a clean sweep for the United Democratic Party across all nine municipalities. Well, tonight Barrow is admitting that he erred in making such a prediction. But, he says the U.D.P.’s failure at the polls was not all the party’s fault. He contends that foreign government interference and the People’s United Party’s increased infrastructural investments leading up to the municipals persuaded voters.
Moses “Shyne” Barrow, Leader of the Opposition
“In our democracy the people have to be convinced that the decision they are making is the right ne and unfortunately in Belize there were rampant foreign interference. You had foreign governments donating sixteen million dollars grants weeks before the elections, one million dollar grant in Belmopan to build houses, sixty days before the elections. Those things are disgusting and blatant interference. You have BTB fifty million dollar bond used for municipal projects sixty days before the elections for the candidates and you had this whirlwind blitz of government resources being used, national government resources being used to convince the people that something was happening. The other part is that we have more work to do as a political organization. Our candidates have more work to do to make sure we can penetrate all of the interference, whether it is foreign governments, the tens of millions of dollars being spent on elections, obviously the opposition cannot match that dollar for dollar. The way we could match it is through our capacity, our intellectual capacity, personalities and all the things that make you a potential area representative. I think we need to do work as far as strengthening our capacities so that we can convince people that despite them being plied with treats that we still have the highest cost of living ever, ramped crime corruption, the stevedores have a problem, the caneros have a problem, the teachers have a problem, right on the eve of elections.”
But, what do the unfavorable results on March sixth for the U.D.P. say about the organization’s leader? He says his name was not on the ballot and that it was a team effort. According to Barrow, the U.D.P. has scheduled a postmortem and a National Party Council meeting where they will have the difficult discussions about the party’s future.
Moses “Shyne’ Barrow, Leader of the Opposition
“We as a political organization, every member, this is a team effort. I was not on the ballot. We were all championing the cause of the United Democratic Party but standard bearers and the councilor candidates had the specific task of the day and we need to do a postmortem which we have scheduled shortly and do some analysis and really see where the fat is that we need to cut and we need to narrow down our focus to eighteen or nineteen divisions. If I can accept blame for anything my error is on strategic miscalculation as far as going after all nine. It is clear that was impractical and so rather than pouring resources into an additional four municipalities we should have focused on the five in reach. Obviously Santa Elena, San Ignacio, PG which we won, then on a recount we lost by twenty-five votes, I am asking for another recount to make sure the integrity of the vote is in order and there is no stealing of the vote. In Benque and Dangriga, I believe if we would have focused all the resources there we would have fared much better. So moving forward we are going to have a national party council so that we can decide the way forward.”
A Belize City family is asking for your help in locating sixty-nine-year-old Idolly Young. Young, who is diagnosed with dementia, was last seen on Tuesday, January 5th, near Sanker Street in Belize City. She was wearing a white blouse and a floral skirt. If you have any information that can help the family, you are asked to call +501 613-3361.
Forty-two-year-old Everaldo Garcia was found this morning in his jail cell at the Belize Central Prison. Prison officials do not suspect foul play. Officials say that prison officers were alerted by another inmate to the fact that Garcia was unresponsive. The head of the intelligence unit, Lismark Bennett, was informed of the matter.
According to reports, Garcia received medical attention on Wednesday and was last seen early on Thursday morning. There were no signs of foul play on his body.
Garcia pleaded guilty to theft in 2022. He stole two bottles of carpet cleaner in Belize City. He was fined $400. He was again convicted of theft in January 2024 and was serving a custodial sentence.
A Belize Defence Force truck flipped earlier this afternoon as it was heading towards San Ignacio Santa Elena. The incident happened near mile 37. Witnesses say that four members of the BDF were injured and rushed to the nearest hospital. The soldiers were on their way to participate in this year’s La Ruta Maya canoe race which starts on Friday. This is a developing story.
