By KHRISNA RUSSELL

Tribune Chief Reporter

krussell@tribunemedia.net

FORMER Prime Minister Perry Christie says he will support whomever the Progressive Liberal Party chooses as the candidate for the Centreville constituency in the 2022 general election.

Mr Christie represented the inner-city constituency for 40 years before he was defeated in the 2017 election by then Free National Movement MP Reece Chipman, who has since become an independent representative.

Yesterday, Mr Christie said it was critical for him not to become personally involved in the process now underway.

To do so, he said, could be easily “misunderstood”, adding it was important the PLP’s leadership be given the opportunity to lead as they see fit.

“I will support whomever the PLP and the leadership of the PLP agrees with, whoever that person is,” Mr Christie said yesterday, when asked if he planned to endorse any candidate in the lead up to the election.

“One of the things I try to avoid is getting personally involved because it is very easy for my involvement to be misunderstood.

“Then rumours start about my involvement and I was trying at all times to avoid that to give the new leadership an opportunity to lead the party the way they see fit.”

Mr Christie won 1,905 votes but it was not enough to clinch victory over Mr Chipman, a first time MP, who received 1,909 votes.

There have been several candidates vying for an opportunity to be the PLP’s standard bearer for Centreville in 2022.

The Tribune understands that attorney Jomo Campbell is the front runner in the eyes of the branch, but the process for selecting a candidate is not yet complete.

Realtor and business woman Reneika Knowles is also an aspirant candidate for the constituency.

Ms Knowles is one of the PLP’s vice chairmen and represented the party in the 2017 general election for the Killarney seat against Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis. In that race she won 19 percent of the votes with 1,092. However, Dr Minnis received more than 70 percent, with 4,186 votes cast for him.

The Democratic National Alliance’s leader Arinthia Komolafe received 455 votes or seven percent of the voters in Killarney.