And though he's not known as the excitable type - we'd venture to say that opposition leader Francis Fonseca might have a hard time sleeping tonight. If his Party wins, Fonseca - who'll be 45 next week - would become the country's youngest Prime Minister in its history.
But, there's some who argue that Fonseca might not get to realize that dream because first he has to win his own division, Freetown. Some pundits say he faces a formidable challenge from Lee Mark Chang, even after winning two elections in that division.
Surely, he's a strong incumbent who even survived - if only just barely - the UDP tsunami of 2008 - but we wouldn't say he's a sure seat for the PUP - like Fort George or Orange Walk Central - where the two previous party leaders are based.
Nonetheless, Fonseca told us he's sure he'll win:
Jules Vasquez
"You have a fight in Freetown. Your opponent is no push-over - well - financed, and appears to be well - organized. Have you entertained the prospect that you could lose in Freetown?"
Francis Fonseca - Party Leader, PUP
"No, I've not entertained that prospect. We will win in Freetown, but yes, it will be a fight. I am certainly not invincible, and I've never pretended to be invincible. But we've always had fought fights in Freetown. My elections were with very strong candidates. This, in fact, is the weakest candidate that I've ever faced. Doug Singh was my first candidate, and then Michael Pyrefitte, who are very serious contenders. So, I am used to serious contenders. And we are going to fight. Yes, we're we going to fight, and I am absolutely confident, Jules, that on March 7, my strong, working relationship with the people of Freetown for the past 10 years will again pay off."
Jules Vasquez
"The fact, Mr. Fonseca, is that you've been losing ground in every Freetown election, from when you inherited it from Jorge Espat. I don't have a figure off-hand, but he had a phenomenal margin of victory, about 70%. You are down now to fewer than 50% with the very close shave in the last election. So then, you have been consistently losing ground from when you inherited the division."
Francis Fonseca
Yes, I won a decisive, clear victory against Dough Singh. We won by about 400 votes in 2003. Jorge Espat, yes, he faced different candidates, but the number of voters in the division also grew significantly from the time he was running, to when I took over. And as I've said, I think that I have faced some of the strongest opponents in Freetown."
You can see the entire, extended interview with Francis Fonseca after this newscast tonight - where he also discusses what role, if any, his cousin Ralph Fonseca would or would not play in a Francis Fonseca government...
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