For any political party, it is always a good exercise to have some level of election to gauge how good or bad that particular party is doing before a General Election is called. For the United Democratic Party that election that is the litmus test to determine how good or bad the party is performing is the Village Council elections.
We must note however that traditionally village council elections were not as politically divided along party lines as they have become, however because they have, it gives the UDP a good sense of how it is performing in rural areas. If we were to look at the outcome of the elections since they started a few weeks ago, we would know that the party is actually doing very well. The results of the elections time and again are showing that villagers are coming out to support the party. That support is being secured because villagers across the country have realized that the United Democratic Party is actually delivering the ‘goods and services’ to the people.
Taking a look at the northern part of the country for example, we can see that there have been significant upgrades to infrastructure in terms of roads and drains in many villages. There is also an increased push by the Social Investment Fund to establish new schools, classrooms and potable water systems all over the country. There is indeed the example of Crooked Tree, where for the first time since the establishment of that village many decades ago that community members are enjoying potable water.
By no stretch of the imagination are these investments in the rural communities to be taken lightly. Imagine living in a community where the streets were virtually impassible to now have within a couple of years- in that same community- streets that are improved and maintained. Imagine going from a community that did not have water delivered to your doorstep to a point where now all you need to do is turn on a valve and water pours out. Imagine sending your child to a school where the teacher was once tasked with preparing and delivering lessons under thatched roofs to a point where now there are new hurricane resistant buildings replacing the thatched structures.
That is the reality that citizens of Belize in the Rural Areas are now seeing. This type of development has never been seen before, but with the UDP in office that is exactly what is being delivered to the people. The villagers across the country are now living a better quality of life and it is no wonder that villagers are coming out and in significant numbers are electing United Democratic Party village councils. The villagers want to show appreciation for the work that is being done and to give the nod that the work must continue.
In the part of the UDP, that is what this government was elected to do, to improve the quality of life for all Belizeans. Every single person living in rural areas must know that that is exactly what this government will do. By them voting for UDP village councils they are ensuring that the work continues. We can only encourage those villages that have not yet had their elections to look at their village and see the development and continue to support the UDP.
