Belize Opposition party takes disciplinary action against its former leader

Patrick Faber has been removed from the central executive committee, even as a senior official has described as “child’s play” the internal wrangling in the party.

UDP chairman, Michael Peyrefitte, said Faber had been removed because he failed to comply with demands to remove social media posts he had made against the party and its current leadership.

In a letter dated August 15, sent to Faber, the UDP chairman cites the first instance when the former leader received a warning on August 11, in which the committee voted electronically that Faber should remove all the posts from his official page or be designated a member in bad standing thereby ineligible to serve on the central executive as a former party leader until such time as he complies with the constitutional requirements.

But Faber not only refused but went on to make another post against the UDP and its members on August 13, criticizing the leadership over the removal of a party member in favor of another.

Patrick Faber described the decision as “the height of nonsense,” adding that the action was also illegal because the process of replacement is reportedly unconstitutional.

Faber has not reacted to the latest decision of the party to remove him from the central executive committee, but Peyrefitte opined that what is happening in the UDP is not uncommon.

He also described the situation as “child’s play.

“It’s very unfortunate, and it’s sad, but it’s a re-run. It’s not some new movie or some new concept. Parties in opposition, especially in the early years of being in opposition after being in government for a decade and changing leaders, you go through these things,” he said, recalling that the ruling People’s United Party (PUP) had gone through a similar situation between 2008 and 2012.

“Man, this is child’s play compared to that. Nothing can destroy the UDP, the chairman said, comparing the party to the sport of boxing.

“You can’t destroy that sport, no matter how many Don Kings you have. It can’t be destroyed. The UDP is not just one or two individuals. At its lowest point in the history of this country, the UDP had 32,000 people vote for it. It is not going to be destroyed by just a few individuals. The organization is bigger than any one of us.”