Allan VS Elluide: Who will be PUP’s Mayoral candidate for Belize City?
By Breaking Belize News Staff: The race to become the People’s United Party’s next mayoral candidate for Belize City is now shaping into a high-stakes convention battle between Councillor Allan Pollard Jr. and Deputy Mayor Eluide Miller, two young politicians with strong City Hall records, competing alliances, and deep links to the current PUP power […] The post Allan VS Elluide: Who will be PUP’s Mayoral candidate for Belize City? appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
Black News 
By Breaking Belize News Staff: The race to become the People’s United Party’s next mayoral candidate for Belize City is now shaping into a high-stakes convention battle between Councillor Allan Pollard Jr. and Deputy Mayor Eluide Miller, two young politicians with strong City Hall records, competing alliances, and deep links to the current PUP power structure.
Pollard officially filed his application on Wednesday, leaning into delegate support after Miller’s own filing was accompanied by seven Belize City councillors. Asked about not having the visible support of his council colleagues, Pollard reportedly brushed it off, saying, “Seven councillors versus 700 delegates. I take the delegates.”
The political temperature rose further after Pollard’s father, Allan “Duck” Pollard Sr., reportedly referred to Miller and the seven councillors who showed up to support him as “snakes,” underscoring how personal the contest has become.
Miller, who is currently Deputy Mayor, is publicly backed by outgoing Mayor Bernard Wagner. Wagner has openly said he favours Miller as his successor, describing him as someone who moved up from intern, to City Hall staffer, to councillor, and then deputy mayor. Public reports have also identified Miller as Wagner’s son-in-law.
Pollard, meanwhile, is widely viewed as aligned with Deputy Prime Minister Cordel Hyde. Previous media reports have described Hyde as Wagner’s brother-in-law and Pollard as Hyde’s godson or political protégé. Hyde himself previously acknowledged being in a difficult position because of his close personal ties to both Wagner and Pollard.
Pollard enters the race with strong electoral numbers. In the 2024 Belize City municipal election, Pollard received 12,574 votes, the highest among PUP councillor candidates and 421 more votes than Mayor Wagner, who received 12,153 in the mayoral race. Miller received 12,236 votes, placing him behind Pollard by 338 votes.
Pollard also outpolled Wagner in 2021. Official and published results show Wagner received 10,067 votes, while Pollard received 10,886 votes, again making Pollard one of the top vote-getters on the PUP Belize City slate.
Pollard has served multiple terms on the Belize City Council and has held the Deputy Mayor post several times. His portfolio has included works, infrastructure, urban development and labour relations. His public profile also lists service on the boards of Belize Water Services, the National Sports Council, the Social Security Board and Belize Telemedia Limited.
Miller, 29, has built his public-service profile inside City Hall. Reports say he started as a University of Belize intern in the Finance Department, later became a full-time employee, then moved into the Office of the Mayor before being elected as a councillor in 2024. He was later elected Deputy Mayor and re-elected unanimously for the 2026–2027 term. His current portfolio includes traffic management, MIS, e-governance, local economic development, trade and investment, and small and new business.
The convention is therefore not only a contest between two candidates. It is also a test of whether PUP delegates will follow the sitting mayor’s succession preference or reward Pollard’s proven vote-getting strength and long-standing grassroots appeal.
For now, Miller appears to have the stronger City Hall caucus behind him, while Pollard is betting that the wider delegate base will matter more than council-room endorsements. That sets up a sharp internal contest between institutional backing and popular delegate appeal as the PUP prepares to choose who will lead its Belize City municipal slate.
The post Allan VS Elluide: Who will be PUP’s Mayoral candidate for Belize City? appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
