Vision Inspired by the People (VIP) is a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

established in December 2005 in the Cayo District of

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 first contested

municipal elections In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct vary ...

in the capital city of

Belmopan Belmopan () is the capital city of Belize. Its population in 2010 was 16,451. In addition to being the smallest capital city in the continental Americas by population, Belmopan is the third-largest settlement in Belize, behind Belize City and Sa ...

on 1 March 2006, receiving 20 percent of votes cast but none of the seven seats. VIP operates primarily in Belmopan, but also has a presence in the

and Corozal Districts. Along with the

People's National Party The People's National Party (PNP) is a social-democratic political party in Jamaica, founded in 1938 by independence campaigner Osmond Theodore Fairclough. It holds 14 of the 63 seats in the House of Representatives, as 96 of the 227 local go ...

, VIP is one of two minor parties which contested both the most recent Belizean

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

and

municipal A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

elections. It has yet to win a seat in the Belize House or a municipal election at the city or town level. In 2015 many VIP members joined the newly formed

Belize Progressive Party The Belize Progressive Party (BPP) is a Belizean political party founded in 2015 by a merger of several extra-parliamentary opposition groups. The BPP made its electoral debut in the November 2015 general election, in which it fielded 25 candidate ...

, however VIP continues to function as a separate entity."Party Leaders Discuss VIP's Intended Wrench"

Tropical Vision Limited Tropical Vision Limited, or as it is locally known, Channel 7, is a Belize City based television station operating since 1981. Its Managing Director is Nestor Vasquez. Programming Channel 7 airs a mix of American and Belizean programmes. 7 N ...

, 16 October 2015. (accessed 28 October 2015)"B.P.P. Will Contest 25 Seats in Upcoming General Elections"

Great Belize Television Great Belize Television, or as it is locally known, Channel 5, is a Belize City-based local television station established in December 1991. Channel 5 airs mostly American and Caribbean programs, as well as a variety of locally produced programs. ...

, 16 October 2015. (accessed 28 October 2015)

Formation and nomination

The VIP introduced itself to residents of Belmopan on Sunday, 4 December 2005 with a manifesto of planned projects they would implement in Belmopan if elected. The slate of candidates presented included the following: * Mayor: Paul Morgan * Councillors: Bobby Lopez, Kamil Espat, Henry Dueck, David Gonzalez, Elvira Brown and Hubert Enriquez. All seven were well known in the Belmopan area and Morgan and Enriquez had previously contested elections there (News 5). Enriquez is officially Secretary General of the Party and Morgan nominal Party Leader. The slate were nominated on 14 February 2006 by returning officer for the city Henry Marsden. In an interview with News 5's Karla Vernon, candidate Morgan said that the nation needed "a change" and said that a VIP victory in Belmopan would be the "seed" that would eventually remove "corruption" in the nation's capital.

Reaction from established parties

Neither established political party were ready to welcome their new opponents. The opposition United Democratic Party (UDP), visualizing an easy win in Belmopan and elsewhere, claimed the VIP would distract Belmopan residents and insinuated they had been supported by 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). The PUP for their part felt (but did not say publicly) that the UDP had instigated the VIP to run. The VIP's greatest supporters were the ''

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 ...

'' newspaper and its publisher

Evan X Hyde Evan Anthony Hyde (better known as Evan X Hyde; born 30 April 1947) is a Belizean writer, journalist, media executive and former politician. He publishes and writes for the nation's largest newspaper, ''Amandala'', and oversees its subsidiaries, ...

. ''Amandala'' wrote a number of editorials and articles in support of the fledgling party, arguing that the PUP and UDP had collectively hijacked local politics for themselves and that third parties needed to step in to at least offer some viable competition. At a January press conference announcing details for the elections, CEO of the

Elections and Boundaries Commission The Belize Elections and Boundaries Commission is the primary electoral body in Belize. It supervises all local and national elections. The commission also establishes the boundaries of Belize's electoral divisions. Formation and duties The EBC w ...

Stuart Leslie announced that incumbent slates would be first on the ballot, opposing slates next and then independent candidates. Morgan objected, saying that ballots produced this way would be denying voters the right to elect the Mayor directly and proposed that Mayoral ballots be separated from that of councillors and that the latter be listed alphabetically and not by party color (''Amandala''). The commission did not accept Morgan's proposal.

The elections and post-election reaction

On March 1, the electorate voted and the VIP did not win any of the seven seats up for election in Belmopan; the UDP won all seven en route to a 64–3 victory. Post-election, analysts congratulated the VIP for their courage in participating and said their lack of success was mostly due to a low budget, inexperience in campaign management, image management and Belmopan voters' apathy (few PUP's came out to vote as a sign of discontent with the Musa administration).

General election preparations

VIP announced in January 2007 that they had selected several candidates for general elections in 2008. Tentative candidates include leader Paul Morgan, Bobby Lopez, Hubert Enriquez, Patrick Rogers, Mateo Polanco and Max Cho. A later addition was Erwin X (Jones) in Port Loyola.

Recent activity

In recent years VIP has maintained an informal alliance with the People's National Party, with which it shares similar anti-corruption stances."Who Will Be PG's Mayor?"

, 2 March 2015. (accessed 18 April 2015) In

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

VIP nominated candidates for the Belize House in the Belize Rural South and

Corozal Bay Corozal Bay is an inlet of Chetumal Bay, indenting northern Belize. Several resort areas are located on the coast of the bay, most notably Corozal Town. The New River (Belize) flows north into the bay. The town of Consejo is located north-northea ...

constituencies, but was not a factor in either election.GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS 2012
Belize Elections and Boundaries Commission. (accessed 19 November 2014) In the 2015 municipal elections, VIP candidate Hubert Enriquez finished third in a five-way mayoral race in Belmopan. VIP also ran other municipal candidates in Belmopan and

San Pedro Town San Pedro is a town on the southern part of the island of Ambergris Caye in the Belize District of the nation of Belize, in Central America. According to the 2015 mid-year estimates, the town has a population of about 16,444. It is the second-la ...

References

*Amandala, "New Belmopan party, Vision Inspired by the People (VIP), to contest Belmopan City Council Elections". November 10, 2005. *Channel 5 News, "Independent party VIP to launch manifesto Sunday", December 2, 2005. *Amandala, "47 days to municipal elections". January 12, 2006. *Amandala, "153 candidates throw in hats for March 1". February 14, 2006.

External links

VIP website
(archived) {{Belizean political parties Political parties established in 2005 Political parties in Belize 2005 establishments in Belize