7 News Belize

The Battle In Cayo North
posted (November 2, 2015)

Tonight we have previews of the candidate races in two divisions: that's Cayo Northeast and Lake Independence. We start in Cayo North where the UDP's Omar Figueroa won a bye-election by a huge margin just 10 months ago. But, now a new PUP opponent, attorney Michel Chebat hopes to unseat Figueroa and overcome a 1300 vote margin. It's no easy task, but when we saw Chebat on Saturday he seemed confident…

The PUP were flexing, and hugging on the streets of San Ignacio on Saturday:

Michel Chebat - PUP Candidate Cayo North

"It's been an excellent day, I mean it's a bit hot but we've been out visiting our voters, trying to get the last message out. I'm getting ready for Wednesday, making sure voters making sure our voters are ready."

Flags aloft, Chebat was doing a fast and last tour of this area in the heart of San Ignacio.

Michel Chebat - PUP Candidate Cayo North

"People are enthusiastic people are waiting for Wednesday. We feel that people are going to come out in their numbers in Wednesday looking forward to that

While we found his opponent Omar Figueroa making the rounds with a smaller group at a much more leisurely pace in a UDP stronghold in Bullett Tree.

Omar Figueroa - UDP Candidate, Cayo North

"There's nothing about my opponent that can faze me at this point in time. We've been here in Cayo North for about 8, 9 months since the bye election. We've managed to do quite a bit and I'm confident that our supporters increase, our margin of victory will be a little bit bigger than it was bye election."

And while Figueroa is predicting a larger margin – after getting the largest in decades just a few months ago in a bye election, he feels justifiably confident. Chebat, however, says it's over for him:

Michel Chebat - PUP Candidate Cayo North

"Yes there was a bye election here in January but we are not intimidated by that. We are supported by the people in the area and we feel that we will cross that finish line come Wednesday."

Omar Figueroa - UDP Candidate, Cayo North

"He has absolutely nothing to run on. In 8 months Jules, in 8 months here in Cayo North, what we have managed to do like most people even the die-hard PUP say they haven't seen here in the past 20 to 30 years."

Jules Vasquez

"What's your final message to the voters when you are going around these days?"

Michel Chebat - PUP Candidate Cayo North

"We are saying to the voters they've had 8 years, they had abandoned the people. No houses have been built, no hospitals have been built, no schools have been built in the area. They have abandoned us for the last 8 years, the last 9 months the area representative has been invisible. And so what we are saying to our voters is come out, we are going to provide them with the representation they need and deserve."

Omar Figueroa - UDP Candidate, Cayo North

"If you walk around Cayo North like you said, my opponent now has a little bit more resources. So you see a little bit more flags, a little bit more banners from the other side. But when you pound the streets, when you walk house to house, you clearly find out that my opponent during the bye election had much more of a presence in Cayo North. He like myself were born and raised in Cayo North. My opponent right now is just stepping into Cayo North. He's lost, we walks around and doesn't know anybody and most people don't know who he is."

Michel Chebat - PUP Candidate Cayo North

"Omar and I went or primary school together. I don't know we have any unnecessary tension between us, it's just the usual party politics and the tension that exist between the parties at this time of the year, I mean we are down to election day and so tensions are high but there has been no aggression on his side or my side."

Omar Figueroa - UDP Candidate, Cayo North

"What my opponent brings also is a kind of negative campaign that we haven't seen in Cayo North for a long time Jules. That's all they do is just negative, negative and the people of Cayo North are tired of that kind of politics."

And while these two differ on everything – they do agree on the inevitable: there will be a victor on Wednesday night:

Michel Chebat - PUP Candidate Cayo North

"Jules we have been working, we've been on the ground since January. We are confident with that the people are saying to us and we do expect that come Wednesday night 11 o'clock, we are going to walk out of cet victorious absolutely."

Omar Figueroa - UDP Candidate, Cayo North

"At the end of the day when the votes are tallied, you will see the margin especially in the red hills increase by a little but, not significantly by a little but it will increase."

Stay tuned for more politics still – because in our next segment – we'll have the preview of the contest in the Lake Independence division.

Home | Archives | Downloads/Podcasts | Advertise | Contact Us

7 News Belize