United Democratic Party (Belize)

The United Democratic Party (Spanish: Partido Democrático Unido;^[6][7] abbreviated UDP) is one of the two major political parties in Belize. It is currently the main opposition party, having lost the 2025 Belizean general election, after previously holding the government across three prior terms. Founded as a centre-right conservative party, the UDP is led by Interim Leader Hugo Patt, though his position is contested by Tracy Taegar-Panton, who is already sworn in as leader of the opposition.

United Democratic Party Partido Democrático Unido
Abbreviation	UDP
Leader	Hugo Patt (Interim Leader) Tracy Taegar-Panton (contested)
Chairperson	Michael Peyrefitte
Deputy Leader	Beverly Williams
Vice Chairperson	Alberto August
Founded	27 September 1973
Merger of	National Independence Party People's Development Movement Liberal Party United Black Association for Development (partial)
Headquarters	Youth for the Future Drive, Belize City, Belize
Newspaper	The Guardian
Youth wing	Youth Popular Front
Ideology	Conservatism[1][2][3]
Political position	Centre-right[4][5]
Regional affiliation	Caribbean Democrat Union
Colors	Red
Seats in the Senate	3 / 13
Seats in the House	5 / 31
Council Control	1 / 9
Councillors	6 / 67
Party flag
Website
www.udp.org.bz
Politics of Belize Political parties Elections

History

Foundation and early history

United Democratic Party flag in Corozal.

In 1973, political opposition in Belize was weak and the ruling People's United Party (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 also voted to join the UDP upon foundation.^[8]

The UDP's first electoral test was the 1974 general election in which it fielded candidates nationwide except in Corozal District, where it supported candidates from the Corozal United Front. It won six seats, and was within 18 votes of winning three more. Former People's Development Movement head Dean Lindo was subsequently named party leader. The party had success in municipal elections during the 1970s, but failed to defeat the PUP in the 1979 general elections. Its representation in the House of Representatives dropped to five seats and party leader Lindo lost his seat to Said Musa and was replaced as leader by Theodore Aranda. Despite internal divisions, the party retained control of three towns in the December 1981 municipal elections.

1983–present

In late 1982, Aranda was removed as party leader and replaced by Curl Thompson, who would later be replaced by former Liberal Party leader Manuel Esquivel following a convention. In December 1983, the UDP won Belize City Council election.

The party was victorious in the 1984 general election, winning 21 of the 28 seats.^[9] Esquivel became the first UDP member elected Prime Minister.^[10] The party went on to 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 alliance won 16 of the 29 seats, with the UDP taking fifteen.^[9] 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.^[11]

In 2020, UDP Prime Minister Dean Barrow called for elections to take place in November 2020. This was during the global COVID-19 pandemic which had hit the country's economy hard. The pandemic, along with impacts of Hurricane Eta, caused significant voter discontent with the current government.^[12] Ultimately, the UDP suffered one of the worst results in the party's history, winning only 5 of the 31 seats.

In the 2025 Belizean general election, the party maintained the same number of seats.

List of leaders

Moses Barrow

• Dean Lindo (1974–1979)
• Theodore Aranda (1979–1982)
• Curl Thompson (1982–1983)
• Manuel Esquivel (1983–1998)
• Dean Barrow (1998–2020)
• John Saldivar (2020)
• Patrick Faber (2020–2022)
• Moses Barrow (2022–2025)
• Hugo Patt (since 2025, as Interim Leader; contested)
  • Tracy Panton (since 2025, leader of the opposition)

Election results

House of Representatives elections

Election	Party leader	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	Position	Outcome
1974	Dean Lindo	9,069	38.93%	6 / 18	6	2nd	Opposition
1979		21,045	47.4%	5 / 18	1	2nd	Opposition
1984	Manuel Esquivel	25,756	54.1%	21 / 28	16	1st	Supermajority government
1989		28,900	49.0%	13 / 28	8	2nd	Opposition
1993		34,306	48.7% In alliance with NABR	16 / 29	3	1st	Majority government
1998		33,237	39.41%	3 / 29	12	2nd	Opposition
2003	Dean Barrow	45,376	45.57%	7 / 29	4	2nd	Opposition
2008		66,203	56.61%	25 / 31	17	1st	Supermajority government
2012		64,976	50.37%	17 / 31	8	1st	Majority government
2015		71,452	50.52%	19 / 31	2	1st	Majority government
2020	Patrick Faber	42,724	38.61%	5 / 31	14	2nd	Opposition
2025	Contested leadership	37,328	29.79%	5 / 31		2nd	Opposition