New Poll Reshapes Belmopan’s Power Picture

Belmopan’s political landscape is shifting, and a new approval-rating poll is putting those changes into sharp focus. Pollster Dr. Phillip Castillo says Mayor Pablo Cawich is losing ground in the capital, with his support sliding from fifty-six percent on election night to just forty-two percent in the latest survey. Meanwhile, Area Representative Oscar Mira is moving in the opposite direction, tightening his grip as what Castillo calls “the undisputed powerbroker in Belmopan,” inching up from sixty-five to sixty-seven percent approval. Prime Minister John Briceño isn’t breaking past forty percent here either, but he’s still doing better in Belmopan than in several other municipalities, including Dangriga. Castillo walked us through what may be fueling the shifts and what they could mean for the political mood in the capital.

 

Dr. Phillip Castillo, Pollster

“I think my poll found that Mr. Cawich has I think it is around forty-two percent support. In a sense, that is a drop off because he won the elections two years ago with fifty-six percent support. So, his support has dropped off, but he is still what we call above water, because those who approve of him, the percentage that approves of him is more than the percentage that disapproves. There is a substantial percentage that is undecide and he has yet to convince those. Those are persons who can be convinced either way. It is a fact that Mr. Mira won in 2020 with sixty percent of the votes. It is also a fact that Mr. Mira won in 2025 with sixty-five percent of the votes. This poll was taken this month and notice his support has increased from sixty-five to sixty-seven percent. So, pollsters like when there are figures, a benchmark to work on and their figures are around that benchmark. The reasons I would think that underlie the prime minister’s generally higher approval ratings in Belmopan is that the average person in Belmopan focusing on economics, socioeconomic indicators by which our statistical agency measures our wellbeing, in all those indicators, Belmopan and the Cayo District is substantially ahead.”

 

Belmopan Mayor Says Polls Don’t Matter; Results Do

 

Belmopan Mayor Pablo Cawich says he was unaware of the recent approval‑rating poll but maintains that his administration is focused on delivering results rather than courting popularity. Speaking on Open Your Eyes, Cawich highlighted several initiatives aimed at improving how residents engage with City Hall, from a developing GIS‑based task management system to a new 675‑TELL WhatsApp hotline, emphasizing that each effort is designed to strengthen accountability and streamline how issues in the Capital City are addressed.

 

Pablo Cawich, Mayor, Belmopan

“I was not aware that a poll was conducted. I have not seen the results as yet. Well, one of the things with this team is that we don’t do thinks for popularity. We do things to ensure we are bringing the benefits the community elected us to do. We are serious about work and we continue to be very serious about the progress of Belmopan. Some of the initiatives we are embarking on will allow residents to better engage with the council. We have GIS Task Management System which we are currently developing. This will allow residents of Belmopan to utilize citizen science to submit issues in the city that will be verified by city council official. Once it is verified it will enter into the task management system. This would allow tracking of that issue until it is rectified and depending on that type of issue it might be informational to relay for a future solution. A part front hat we also have a new mechanism where we are utilizing a 675-TELL hotline. This allows any residents to submit issues or concerns via WhatsApp.”

 

Belmopan Mayor Pablo Cawich says he isn’t bothered by polls, stressing that his team is zeroed in on delivering results through new accountability tools and a WhatsApp hotline.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

Watch the full newscast here: