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Election Season Starts – UDP Convention in the Culture Capital
By admin（https://belizean.com/author/belizean_ljqplqfp/）
August 7, 2026
Dr. Philip Castillo
Municipal elections are eight months away and the first steps start with party conventions to select Mayoral and councilor candidates. The Opposition UDP will hold its convention this weekend on August 9. The convention will feature two candidates vying for Mayor, and each candidate has his/her respective slate of six councilor candidates. Hence the ballot will have a total of 14 candidates. Only 7 can win.
Castillo Poll # 3 of 2026 presents the findings of a poll conducted in Dangriga over the weekend of August 1 st to 3 rd . For a municipal election, the target population is the registered voters of that municipality. However for a party convention, that target population deliberately excludes known members of the other party. So for the upcoming UDP convention, the party will not allow known PUP members to vote. That presents a major challenge since ascertaining who is a “known PUP” is a subjective endeavour. This also means that for polling purposes, the actual target population is unknown.
The above, notwithstanding…here goes:
Table # 1 – Mayor
# Mayoral Candidate % Votes Comments
1 Cristalyn Castillo 23.4
2 Dwayne Sampson 63.8 Projected Winner
Undecided 12.8
Source: Castillo Poll # 3 of 2026 ( August 2026)
Table # 2 – Councilors
# Councilor % Votes Comments
YES NO
1. Gary “Stitch” ENRIQUEZ 23.3 76.7
2. Cindy Jessica FAJARDO 53.5 46.5 ELECTED 6
3. Keanna FIGUEROA 18.6 81.4
4. Stephen “Coach” LAURIE 46.5 53.5
5. Elsworth “Vida” MAGDALENO 55.8 44.2 ELECTED 5
6. Francis “FX” MARIN 46.5 53.5
7. Albourne “Beeze” MARSHALL 55.8 44.2 ELECTED 4
8. Marsha Emelia MEJIA 48.8 51.2
9. Dayton “Ballal” SABAL 81.4 18.6 ELECTED 1
10. John “Shush” SABAL 58.1 41.9 ELECTED 3
11. Jamall SWASO 65.1 34.9 ELECTED 2
12. Keisha Chavez WALTON 37.2 62.8
Source: Castillo Poll # 3 of 2026 ( August 2026)
A poll is a sample randomly drawn from a given population. I’ve already noted the challenges of identifying the target population. Yet another challenge undertaking any poll is that there WILL always be a margin of error. The margin of error relates to the extent to which the mean or the average of the sample (which is known) varies from the mean or the parameter of wider population (which is unknown). This degree of variance is expressed as a plus (+) or minus (-) because the variation can go in either direction. Polling organizations generally use a margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points.