The United Democratic Party (UDP) is one of the two major political parties in

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

. It is currently the main opposition party, having lost the 2020 Belizean general election, after previously holding the government across three prior terms. Founded as a centre-right conservative party, the UDP is led by

Shyne Barrow Moses Michael Levi Barrow (born Jamal Michael Barrow, best known by his stage name Shyne; November 8, 1978) is a Belizean rapper and politician.

Founding

In 1973 political opposition in Belize was weak and the ruling

People's United Party The People's United Party (PUP) is one of two major political parties in Belize. It is currently the governing party of Belize after success in the 2020 Belizean general election, winning a majority of 26 seats out of 31 in the Belizean House ...

(PUP) had never lost a legislative election since its foundation. The main opposition parties, the National Independence Party and the People's Development Movement met together with a new Liberal Party to consider forming an alliance to fight the PUP. The resulting merger formed the United Democratic Party on 27 September 1973. Controversially, a significant portion of the

United Black Association for Development United Black Association for Development (UBAD) was a cultural and political party established in Belize in February 1969 and based on traditional Black Power tenets. Background The nation of Belize (or, as it was then called, British Hondura ...

also voted to join the UDP upon foundation. Hyde, Evan X
"From The Publisher"
''

Amandala ''Amandala'' is a Belizean tabloid newspaper. Published twice weekly, it is Belize's largest newspaper. ''Amandala'' was established in 1969 as the print organ of the now-defunct United Black Association for Development (UBAD), but has been polit ...

'', 24 October 2008. (accessed 10 May 2015)

Subsequent history

The UDP's first electoral test was the 1974 general election in which it fielded candidates nationwide except in

Corozal District Corozal District is the northernmost district of the nation of Belize. The population was 33,894 in 2000. The district capital is Corozal Town. Pre-Columbian Maya ruins are found in Corozal at Santa Rita near Corozal Town, and at Cerros. To ...

, where it supported candidates from the

Corozal United Front The Corozal United Front (CUF) was a short-lived political party active in Corozal District, Belize, in the 1970s. Shortly after its founding the party won a municipal election in Corozal Town, defeating the established People's United Party there f ...

. It won six seats, and was within 18 votes of winning three more. Former People's Development Movement head

Dean Lindo Dean Russel Lindo (4 September 1932 – 17 September 2018) was a Belizean attorney and politician. He was one of the principal founders of the United Democratic Party in 1973 and served as its first leader from 1974 to 1979.1979 general elections. Its representation in the House of Representatives dropped to five seats and party leader Lindo lost his seat to

Said Musa Said Wilbert Musa (, born 19 March 1944) is a Belizean lawyer and politician. He was the Prime Minister of Belize from 28 August 1998 to 8 February 2008. Early life and education Said Wilbert Musa was born in 1944 in San Ignacio in the Cayo D ...

and was replaced as leader by

Theodore Aranda Theodore Roosevelt "Ted" Aranda (1934 – July 2022) was a Belize, Belizean politician and Garifuna people, Garifuna activist. Education and UDP career Aranda held an M.A. (1967) and a Ph.D. (1971) in Education from the University of Illinoi ...

. Despite internal divisions, the party retained control of three towns in the December 1981 municipal elections In late 1982 Aranda was removed as party leader and replaced by

Curl Thompson Curl Osmond Thompson was a Belizean politician. Thompson served as an Area Representative in the Belize House of Representatives and as Deputy Prime Minister. He was also interim leader of the United Democratic Party for a brief period in the ea ...

, who in turn was replaced by former Liberal Party leader

Manuel Esquivel Sir Manuel Amadeo Esquivel (2 May 1940 – 10 February 2022) was a Belizean politician. As leader of the United Democratic Party, he served as Prime Minister from 1984 to 1989, and then again from 1993 to 1998. His party's victory in 1984 was ...

following a convention. In December 1983 the UDP won

Belize City Belize City is the largest city in Belize and was once the capital of the former British Honduras. According to the 2010 census, Belize City has a population of 57,169 people in 16,162 households. It is at the mouth of the Haulover Creek, wh ...

Council elections and the following year they were victorious in the

general elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

, winning 21 of the 28 seats.Nohlen, p106 However, they lost power in the 1989 elections, winning 13 seats to the PUP's 15. For the 1993 elections the party formed an alliance with the

National Alliance for Belizean Rights The National Alliance for Belizean Rights (NABR), formed as the Patriotic Alliance for Territorial Integrity, was a political party in Belize in the 1990s. The party colour was forest green.

. The alliance won 16 of the 29 seats, with the UDP taking fifteen. However, they were soundly defeated in the 1998 elections as the PUP won 26 of the 29 seats, after which Esquivel was replaced by Barrow as party leader. The PUP remained in power following the 2003 elections, in which the UDP only won seven seats. After ten years in opposition, the UDP won the 2008 general elections, taking 25 of the 31 seats. In 2020, UDP Prime Minister

Dean Barrow Dean Oliver Barrow, SC PC (born March 2, 1951) is a politician from Belize who served as prime minister of Belize from 2008 until 2020 and as leader of Belize's United Democratic Party. An attorney by profession, Barrow served as Belize's ...

called for elections to take place in November 2020. This was during the global

COVID-19 Pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

which had hit the country's economy hard. The pandemic, along with impacts of Hurricane Eta, caused significant voter discontent with the current government. Ultimately, the UDP suffered one of the worst results in the party's history, winning only 5 of the 31 seats.

List of leaders

Dean Lindo Dean Russel Lindo (4 September 1932 – 17 September 2018) was a Belizean attorney and politician. He was one of the principal founders of the United Democratic Party in 1973 and served as its first leader from 1974 to 1979.Theodore Aranda Theodore Roosevelt "Ted" Aranda (1934 – July 2022) was a Belize, Belizean politician and Garifuna people, Garifuna activist. Education and UDP career Aranda held an M.A. (1967) and a Ph.D. (1971) in Education from the University of Illinoi ...

(1979–1982) *

(1982–1983) *

(1983–1998) *

(1998–2020) * Patrick Faber (2020–2022) *

Shyne Barrow Moses Michael Levi Barrow (born Jamal Michael Barrow, best known by his stage name Shyne; November 8, 1978) is a Belizean rapper and politician.

(2022-present)

Electoral history

House of Representatives elections

References

External links

Official website

''The Guardian''
Party newspaper {{Authority control Political parties in Belize Political parties established in 1973 1973 establishments in Belize Conservative parties in North America