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Hon. Francis Fonseca, PUP Leader
"I am the only candidate that has been able to put together a national team from north to south, east to west. So we believe we have a good strong team. But at the end of the day the delegates of the party will decide on January 31st. We have almost 3,000 delegates. They will make the right decision and all of us in the party will respect that decision. But I certainly feel good about where our campaign is. We have 16 days to go and so we have a lot of work remaining. But we feel very good and confident about where we are now."

Jules Vasquez
"Sir, I remember in the last convention, if I recalled, you had the endorsement of what would have been called the old guard. In terms of you had the majority of the standard bearers, area representatives supporting you, but eventually Mr. Briceno managed to snipe enough support from the delegates to win."

Hon. Francis Fonseca, PUP Leader
"Indeed."

Jules Vasquez
"This time it is even easier because there are so many and it's impossible to control 2,800 people. Is it a concern for you that while you - say these parliamentarians, the deputy leaders, the standard bearers - all these people came to you? In fact at the delegate level you could lose it."

Hon. Francis Fonseca, PUP Leader
"Absolutely, I've said that to premise the basis on which my decision was made to come in. But obviously the campaign has to be about the delegates and that is what we are engaged in. And I certainly feel very good about the reception we've been receiving from the very delegates who will vote on convention day. They are the ones who will make the decision. You are absolutely right. But I think there is a significant difference between 2008 and now. I have been the leader for the past 4 years. In 2008, in many respects I was the candidate as you've said of the establishment and certainly following a massive defeat in 2008, there was a strong undercurrent for (if you like) change. I sense in the party that yes people want reform, they want changes. But people feel that we have inherited (if you like) a ship that was in a hurricane. They believe we have stabilize that ship. We are still in choppy waters. There are still holes in the ship that we need to plug, but people feel we are certainly in a position where we can see the lad beyond the horizon where the sun (if you like) is beginning to rise once again on the People's United Party."

Jules Vasquez
"Do you all have a magic number of how many delegates you believe you need to win?"

Hon. Francis Fonseca, PUP Leader
"Yes, we have our strategy, we have our plan. But indeed, you are right in saying that in a 3-way race it's a little more difficult to properly determine a strategic advantage, a strategic plan. But certainly as I said, we are approaching it, we have a plan and we feel very confident about where we are now and what we need to do over the next 16 days to get the required amount of votes that we need to once again be the party leader."

Jules Vasquez
"Are you urging the standard bearers, the representatives to whip their delegates into shape and to hold the block tightly?"

Hon. Francis Fonseca, PUP Leader
"Yes indeed. That is clearly important and yes we are pulling out the whip on our standard bearers, representatives - they are in fact the ones, if you like, drafted me back into this thing. So they have a special duty and obligation to perform and deliver. But that's a good thing. I think they feel invested in my leadership. They feel that they have a stake in my leadership. They want to be a part of that leadership team and as I said, we have a national team. We are very proud of that fact. So we feel good about where we are."

Jules Vasquez
"How will you contend with the argument that no leader in the modern era has lost 2 successive general elections as leader of the opposition?"

Hon. Francis Fonseca, PUP Leader
"I think these are elections as you know which has been called - Mr. Barrow has called 3 elections in seven and a half years. So I always joke to people, if Said Musa had done that between 1998, we could have called an election in 2001, another one in 2003. We could easily won 3 elections. That's a very hollow argument. Indeed, I think that is certainly a concern for our supporters, but as I said, I think people understand that this UDP government has had access to unprecedented resources, unpresented monies and of course people appreciate what has been happening in our own party since 2003, 2004 and they understand that we need to address that issue and I am grateful that many people feel I can address that issue."