Minnis: DNA coalition failed over demand for 16 seats

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Deputy Chief Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

FREE National Movement Leader Dr Hubert Minnis last night revealed that negotiations for a coalition between the FNM and the Democratic National Alliance failed because DNA Leader Branville McCartney wanted 16 seats uncontested and an agreement for his party to have the final say on the makeup of the government, including who would be named prime minister.

Upon hearing the demands of Mr McCartney, Dr Minnis told a raucous crowd of party supporters that he “reverted back to my younger days growing up in Bain Town (and the) Grove and I told Bran where to go.”

Dr Minnis said he was not prepared to “giveaway” the FNM or pander to “oversized egos” and blamed the former Bamboo Town MP for enabling the Progressive Liberal Party to win the 2012 general election, “causing pain and suffering” over the last five years.

According to the Killarney MP, Mr McCartney demanded that the FNM did not contest the Bamboo Town constituency, Seabreeze, Garden Hills, Carmichael, Golden Isles, Southern Shores, Marathon, Elizabeth, Pinewood, Fox Hill, Golden Gates, North Abaco, Central and South Abaco, Marco City, Yamacraw and to have the St Thomas More constituency if there was one.

The DNA further wanted an agreement that should they be successful, the party would be tasked with deciding the deputy prime minister, the make-up of the Cabinet and ambassadors, Dr Minnis said. 

This deal, he said, was bound to bring instability to the government.

The details of the failed coalition discussions came to light during the FNM’s final ratification last night at the party’s headquarters on Mackey Street.

The party ratified five candidates, including Dr Minnis for Killarney, Shanedon Cartwright for St Barnabas, former Deputy Prime Minister Brent Symonette for the St Anne’s constituency, Pakeshia Parker-Edgecombe for West Grand Bahama and Bimini and Rev Vaughn Miller for Golden Isles. 

Mr Miller replaces Kenyatta Gibson, who withdrew from the race last week Friday for “personal reasons,” a day after PLP Chairman Bradley Roberts suggested that the party was privy to damaging information about him that it was about to release in the public domain. 

“In the last election Bran caused the PLP to win,” Dr Minnis said during his address to scores of FNM supporters. “He broke ranks and caused all the pain and suffering we had to endure at the hands of the PLP during the last five years. I don’t believe Bahamians are going to make the same mistake again.

“The FNM under my leadership will not pander to oversized and out sized egos. We will not be blackmailed. We will not enter into any deals that will bring instability to governance and just to let you know Bran wanted 16 seats. He wanted the FNM not to oppose 16 seats. The seats he wanted were as follows: he wanted Bamboo Town, he wanted Seabreeze, he wanted Garden Hills, he wanted Carmichael, he wanted Golden Isles, he wanted Southern Shores, he wanted Marathon, he wanted Elizabeth, he wanted Pinewood, he wanted Fox Hill, he wanted Golden Gates, he wanted North (Abaco) and South (and Central) Abaco, he wanted Marco City, he wanted Yamacraw, and if there was a St Thomas More, he wanted St Thomas More.”

He continued: “The only seats he did not want was Killarney, Montagu, St Anne’s and the inner city. You see what he also wanted besides taking the best from the FNM, he also wanted an agreement that if the DNA got the most seats that the DNA would decide who was the prime minister. The DNA would decide who was the deputy prime minister. The DNA would decide the cabinet and the DNA would select the ambassadors for the Bahamas.

“I reverted back to my younger days growing up in Bain Town (and the) Grove and I told Bran where to go. I was not prepared to give away the FNM and I am still not prepared to give away the FNM.”

Dr Minnis went on to respond to criticisms that his party is still divided, pointing to situations that have gone public that the same is occurring in the governing party. Dr Minnis said his party was “finished” with infighting. 

“There is a lot of noise in the market and the noise will get louder as the election draws closer. The big headlines shout out about confusion and disarray in the ranks of the opposition. Well I want to tell you tonight that there might be confusion and disarray out there, but there is no confusion and disarray in here.

“There is no disarray in the FNM. We are not a party of that squabbling. We finished with that. The FNM is all together and our door is always open. We are going about our business and our business is the people’s business. We are getting ready to win the next election. We are getting ready to put our teams out and we are getting ready to govern. We are not waiting for anyone. We are not waiting until they get their massive egos sorted out. If you want to get rid of the PLP, if you want a new government, there is only one way to go and that is the FNM.

“Only the FNM can defeat the PLP.  A vote for an independent is a vote for the PLP. And I said it before and I will say it again and I want you to listen and hear me well. I want all of the Bahamas to hear my words and my voice. If you go to bed with the DNA you will wake up with the PLP and Christie.”

For his part, Mr Symonette said it was clear for everyone to see that the FNM is the party of choice. He said the FNM has the best candidates, deputy leader and leader.

“I have served the people of the Bahamas to the best of my ability and I will continue to serve those people, but more importantly I will serve the leader of the FNM to the best of my ability,” Mr Symonette said.

“And Bradley Roberts can take that to the bank. This country is tired of Christie and his group of useless, worthless, good for nothing, nonproductive persons who do not have the interest of the Bahamian people at heart.”

When he took the podium, Mr Cartwright said Bahamians all across the country have had enough of the PLP government.

“For far too long the Bahamian people have been denied their dreams and aspirations. The reality for the Bahamian people is this, we have an economy that is not growing, an economy that has only grown 0.1 per cent at the end of 2016. It’s the people’s time. We have a situation in the country where there were 600 murders in the last five years and that’s why it’s the people’s time. We have unemployment, which is at 17 per cent and that is why it’s the people’s time. The Bahamian people have been over taxed.”

Mr Miller went on to use his address to speak to Golden Isles constituents saying: “The FNM under Dr Minnis has heard your concerns, heard your cries and will not only listen but also as your government will respond and make the changes you’re calling for. The Commonwealth of the Bahamas will once again become a strong, vibrant, respected, productive, safe, God-fearing nation.”

Comments

theplpsucks says...

What a total narcissist Bran is. He has to get over himself, he cant win one seat on his own yet feels he can demand. What a joke

Posted 8 March 2017, 2:26 p.m. Suggest removal

proudloudandfnm says...

What happens if the DNA take 8% again?

I wonder if Minnis made a counter-proposal?

Posted 8 March 2017, 3:03 p.m. Suggest removal

John says...

The CIA hack is going to reveal what what the CIA was doing to young, black kids in America and around the Caribbean. Giving them chemicals to turn them into super predators where they go out and kill up one another without remorse and without guilt. Now the country will know why the murder rate is so high and cannot be controlled. Yet Greenslade still have policemen some high on the same rope they locking up young men for, and others half drunk, judgment impaired, harassing and imtimtating young men, verbally and physically abusing them and pushing them further off the edge. It was dispicable how they carried on when they pulled up on this young man recently. The officer was using language his mother taught him because he kept calling her name, "mother " and saying what she was doing when he was being made. He threatened to 'tear off' the young man's head and stomp him into the ground. Even after the young man who was standing at a lunch window told the goon officer he was only 15, the officer continued with his verbal abuse and threats while a bus load of other officers looked on. Greenslade if you think this is proper policing and a way to treat our young men then I challenge you to take your goon squad down town, on Bay Street and let them do two male tourists the way these officers did this young man and what they do to many others each day. Sir Lyndon Pindling is the father of the modern Bahamas. He was credited with helping free Nelson Mandela and the eventual liberation of blacks in South Africa. Yet in 2017 this country has a police force that are denying young men freedom of movement and even the right to commute back and forth to worked without being searched and harassed and intimidated by officers who are armed to the 'T' and prepared to shoot on the drop of a hat. From Bernard Nottage needs to go do some research and find out what is happening with these young men. Bring in the experts, get them rehabilitated and help them find jobs and become productive citizens again. Your Pre-Mandela, South African tactics are not working.

Posted 8 March 2017, 3:20 p.m. Suggest removal

Cobalt says...

Utter rubbish. You're beginning to sound like that idiot TalRussell.

First of all, your post has nothing to do with the above mentioned story. Maybe it was intended for some other headline. Second of all, we're all tired of you playing the "race card" and the "blame game" when it comes to national issues, especially crime. This is the Bahamas, not America. So we couldn't care less about America's issues and what the CIA is doing.... and even if we did.... we couldn't do anything about it because we're just a small country living next door to a global super power.

Crime is high in the Bahamas because of poor parenting. Period!
Bahamians need to take responsibility for their own actions and inactions. We have taken God out of our homes, out of our lives, and out of the lives of our children. Women and men in our country continue to have intercourse out of wedlock and breed children they are not financially and morally able to support. The result is young criminals, as well as other social ills.

Posted 9 March 2017, 9:48 a.m. Suggest removal

hallmark says...

"and blamed the former Bamboo Town MP for enabling the Progressive Liberal Party to win the 2012 general election, “causing pain and suffering” over the last five years." So a party that did not win any seats is responsible for the pain and suffering in our nation? How Minnis figure that? And if they are, as he proclaims, "the party of choice" why was he even meeting with McCartney? Go ahead and let the people choose.

Posted 8 March 2017, 4:21 p.m. Suggest removal

Alex_Charles says...

they split the vote... that is assuming those that voted for the DNA would have supported the FNM. I wouldn't blame them for that loss, but if you examine the numbers and votes by constituencies it was the PLP base, which is now a minority in the country, that won the PLP that election. It will be that same base that will win the PLP the 2017 election as well with a once again divided opposition.

Posted 9 March 2017, 2:04 p.m. Suggest removal

Well_mudda_take_sic says...

And the overwhelming final ranking of who to vote for from an independent polling of more than 20,000 registered voters throughout the Bahamas is as follows:

Number 1: Any independent candidate of generally well known good character.

Number 2: The DNA candidate, but only if he or she is of generally well known good character.

Number 3: The PLP candidate, but only if there is no number 1 or 2 above and you must reluctantly accept that the devil you know is better than the devil you know nothing about.

Number 4: The FNM candidate, but only if there is no number 1, 2 or 3 above and you feel compelled to exercise your most important constitutional right, i.e. the right to vote.

Number 5: Spoil your ballot or not vote at all if you believe all is lost and exercising your
constitutional right will accomplish absolutely nothing!

Posted 8 March 2017, 4:36 p.m. Suggest removal

banker says...

I am more than curious to know the identity of the polling organisation.

Posted 8 March 2017, 5:30 p.m. Suggest removal

Well_mudda_take_sic says...

Ipsos.

Posted 9 March 2017, 3:06 a.m. Suggest removal

ThisIsOurs says...

Yep. I got a call from Independent Domain that prompted me to ask a friend if he knew whether these organizations were governed by any ethical standards. One question asked, ~"*should the government fire policemen or eliminate VAT*", and on and on the biased questioning continued. I don't know any ethical pollster who expects to get any real data with questions like that. Just because it's a "poll result" doesn't mean it's worth crap.

Posted 9 March 2017, 3:46 a.m. Suggest removal

Reality_Check says...

Now this is interesting. I heard several weeks ago from a prominent local attorney that the Chinese Export-Import Bank had commissioned the conduct of a study (scientific poll) to determine the likely outcome of the next general election. Apparently the poll was undertaken from within the U.S. (Atlanta or Jacksonville?) using the voting register from our 2012 general election and cost upwards of $500,000. The low voter registration until recently prevented use of the current register of voters. How did you learn about this?

Posted 9 March 2017, 3:24 a.m. Suggest removal

Well_mudda_take_sic says...

You seem to know more than me....I didn't know CEXIMB were behind the secret poll. At least we can take comfort in one of its key findings, i.e. the odds of the Dimwitted Doc being our next PM are slim to none.

Posted 9 March 2017, 3:39 a.m. Suggest removal

Honestman says...

Mudda / Reality: You don't half come up with some nonsense at times. This might be YOUR voting strategy but I believe most voters will look at their choice and choose the candidate that has the best chance of defeating the PLP candidate.

Posted 9 March 2017, 1:54 p.m. Suggest removal

Alex_Charles says...

Too vague to be considered a serious poll of any statistical value. How many of them are aligned or a part of a political party, what is their income level, level of education, age, sex, what areas do they live in, days in which the poll was captured, what was the specific polling question/s, what is the margin of error.

If these items were not taken into consideration then the poll isn't worth a damn.

Posted 9 March 2017, 2:08 p.m. Suggest removal

TalRussell says...

Comrade Minnis, who called for the PM's resignation when all the PM demonstrated was a less polite finger gesturing physical way to tell the fella messing with his head - where to go. I thinks majority us thinks, both Bran and that other fella, deserved swift kicks to the rectums - before verbally sending them on their respective ways.
Amen!

Posted 8 March 2017, 5:06 p.m. Suggest removal

birdiestrachan says...

Obscene he reverted back to his Bains town days. Did he give Bran the Finger? Symonette
Turn Coat on Butler Turner. Enriched his own Company and his Delivery Boy built a container port gave them a monopoly for twenty years. and he thinks he is a great white Knight comming to save the Poor Black Bahamian people.

The Rev believes that the FNM Party will cause Bahamians to fear God. No wonder they can not save any souls for Chriist.

Both Bran An Doc would love to be PM. If I had to choose and I hope I do not I would choose
Bran the lesser of the two evils.

Posted 9 March 2017, 12:46 p.m. Suggest removal

licks2 says...

Thanks birdie. . .Lol! We know what you think. . .you are saying opposite to it. . .as usual!! But I do believe you that both men would like to be PM sooooo badly. . . who cares. . .just so it is not a PLP as PM!

Posted 9 March 2017, 5:08 p.m. Suggest removal

birdiestrachan says...

Bran has a different story. "Roc with Doc" can tell some Whoppers. It is so bad that he believes
his own lies. It seems to be in the FNM's DNA.

Posted 9 March 2017, 1:36 p.m. Suggest removal

licks2 says...

I never though I would see the day that a PLP talks to anybody about lying. . . now birdie that's rich. . .real rich! Lol!

Posted 9 March 2017, 5:11 p.m. Suggest removal

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