By KHRISNA RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

krussell@tribunemedia.net

FORMER Prime Minister Perry Christie lamented the low voter turnout on Election Day, saying the reports have concerned him.

The 2021 voter turnout was much less than the 90 percent that the country has been known for over the last several elections. In 2017, the voter turnout was around 88 percent.

“I’m getting more and more concerned because when I looked at Jamaica and saw that the Jamaican government had won an election with 37 percent of the vote turning out, I said the Bahamas would never ever have such an experience, but what is now happening is that people are not happy and not satisfied,” Mr Christie said.

“They elect not to vote for the other side. Many of them just decide I am not going to vote and so what is happening is there is a demonstration of another kind of manifestation in our country in that people make a statement by not turning up and that’s a very very major new development in our country. It is something that we must be careful about.”

He spoke to reporters on Saturday after Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis received his instruments of appointment.

He continued: “‘Brave’ Davis seemed to try to address it when he said people were disenfranchised by the suddenness of this snap election. So, moving forward it’s an election lesson to be learnt.

“But the happy part about it is The Bahamas again demonstrates that we have a vibrant democracy.”

Mr Christie reiterated that Bahamians historically do not consecutively elect political parties to office.

“. . .‘Brave’ Davis for his own future in politics must try to understand during this five-year period what is the basis of that phenomenon, sort of a historical feature that is just so interesting in The Bahamas that there is no second term.”

This aside, Mr Christie said he believed Mr Davis is well equipped to govern the country, adding he would assist if called upon.

“Firstly, I’m very very happy for Mr Davis who has put a lot of effort into his public life. Who I think is a very qualified person to be prime minister and I certainly believe the people of The Bahamas would see that shortly.

“One of the amazing historical features of this whole victory by ‘Brave’ is that we have three prime ministers coming from the same law firm,” he said, referring to the law firm Christie, Ingraham & Co, where he previously worked with Mr Ingraham and Mr Davis.

“I don’t know if that will ever happen again, but it was fascinating for Hubert Ingraham and I to be here to share this occasion along with ‘Brave’ Davis and the Progressive Liberal Party and his family.

“With respect to going forward the great challenge for ‘Brave’ Davis and his team is now governance and I am confident that he has the capacity to lead that team and that the team itself really reflects The Bahamas insofar as women and men, young and old experienced and inexperienced are the makeup of a team that will now govern the country.

“I am looking forward to a major initiative addressing COVID-19 and the economy of The Bahamas. Those are the two major creatures, two challenges that he has, and I believe after he has constituted his team and opened up with his Cabinet that he is going to address vigorously and comprehensively these two major items, which I think will bring The Bahamas to a point where we can move towards normalcy.”

Mr Christie also revealed that several hours before voting closed on Election Day, he confronted former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis with his prediction that the Free National Movement had lost to the Progressive Liberal Party.

The former Centreville MP said his projection was rejected by a confident FNM leader.

“I went at 2 o’clock in the afternoon on Election Day,” Mr Christie said.

“I went and I found him at his polling station with his supporters and I said, ‘I have come to tell you that you have lost the general elections.’

“That was around 2 o’clock. I said ‘Brave’ Davis will be the next prime minister and I have come to you my friend to say to you if you would wish me to help you with your concession speech, I am prepared to do that.

"He looked shocked, and he said ‘I’m gonna beat Brave Davis’ and that’s when I realised that we were on two different paths.”