On August 10, 2026, three-term incumbent Rigoberto Vellos claimed a decisive victory over political newcomer Shajarie Rogers in the hotly contested People’s United Party (PUP) Corozal Mayoral Convention, locking in his spot as the party’s candidate for the 2027 municipal elections. A total of more than 3,400 registered Corozal voters turned out to cast their ballots in the intra-party contest, with final counts putting Vellos at 1,799 votes and Rogers at 1,175—delivering a comfortable 624-vote margin for the incumbent.
In his victory address to cheering supporters shortly after results were confirmed, Vellos characterized the lead-up to the convention as an unprecedented test of his political standing, describing the race as a “hard battle” that pushed his campaign to its limits. A consistent throughline of Vellos’ remarks was his repeated assertion that the intra-party convention was an unnecessary contest. Despite the public divide that marked the race, Vellos emphasized he holds no resentment toward his challenger or her backers, even amid widespread reports that local legislator Thea Garcia-Ramirez, representative for the Corozal Bay Area, threw her support behind Rogers’ campaign.
Calling for immediate party unity ahead of next year’s municipal elections, Vellos extended an open invitation to Rogers and all her supporters to join his campaign team of municipal councillor candidates. “If we are serious about moving Corozal forward, we have to stick together, we have to have one another’s back, we have to share the same vision and goal—because our people depend on us,” Vellos said in his address, noting that the results of the convention delivered a clear message to all party stakeholders.
For her part, Rogers delivered a concession that stopped short of stepping away from local politics. While the newcomer confirmed she would support Vellos as the party’s official nominee, in line with PUP party unity protocols, she made clear that her political project is far from over. “It’s not over for the Rogers team; we will be coming back, and of course you’ll be hearing of us more,” Rogers told reporters following the results, framing the convention loss as a single step rather than the end of her political journey. She emphasized that for the time being, the PUP remains one united family, and her camp will stand behind Vellos’ bid for a fourth term as Corozal mayor.