Of the 686 teachers who voted in the convention 349 of them voted for Elena Smith. Troy Coleman got 197 votes - not 147, as we had reported; and Mario Mesh got 140 votes. Elena Smith still managed to get more votes than both of them combined, and she now takes over from Luke Palacio.
But, while Palacio is no longer the head of the union, he still remains on the executive as the first vice president. That's because no other candidate stepped up to challenge him for that post in yesterday's convention. Jorge Mejia was also returned as the national treasurer because, again, nobody challenged him for the post.
The other new executive member is Ruth Shoman, who was elected in yesterday's convention. Following her victory, she spoke with the press about her new role, and about the direction for the new leadership:
Ruth Shoman, New National Secretary - BNTU
"I'd like to thank everybody who put their vote in me and their trust in me. I feel blessed today, but for me, first and foremost it's like I had said earlier is that the BNTU is the vanguard of our democracy and that is what we need to keep. For me that's first and foremost. After that if we keep that intact then we can do everything else which is taking care of our teachers, taking care of students, taking care of our nation. So for us that is what is important."
Reporter
"With this new executive the BNTU is strong or as strong as it was in October when it struck against the government?"
Ruth Shoman, New National Secretary - BNTU
"Of course, I believe that all these tests make us even stronger and bring us even more united, because instead of what they are attempting which is to break us apart, it is causing the opposite. It is bringing us together. This family has gotten stronger, the support is even bigger and that - maybe I should thank the government for having done what they did, so that it can strengthen us even more. We will continue doing our work, the government needs to continue being very watchful, because we will not stop protecting and looking over our children, our teachers and our Belizeans."
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