By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Senior Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

MARCO City MP-elect Michael Pintard is seen as the frontrunner to succeed Dr Hubert Minnis as leader of the Free National Movement, party insiders have told The Tribune.

However, St Barnabas MP-elect Shanendon Cartwright, East Grand Bahama MP-elect Kwasi Thompson and former Elizabeth MP Dr Duane Sands are also considered possible contenders, according to FNM insiders who will be involved in a series of meetings this week as the party grapples with its worst electoral defeat since 1977.

Although former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis has said he will lead the FNM in opposition, few in the party expect he will remain leader for the long-term or that he would be allowed to do so, though it is anticipated that he may stay on long enough to appoint four senators.

Former Prime Minister Perry Christie led the Progressive Liberal Party to victory in 2012 after the party lost the 2007 election under his leadership, but FNM insiders do not expect Dr Minnis will be allowed to do the same.

The FNM originally planned to have a convention in November of this year; sources expect this timeline to be finalised by the end of this week. The party may even discuss calling a special convention to settle the leadership issue. Among the meetings scheduled in the coming days are one today with Dr Minnis involving the candidates who participated in the election, an executive board meeting tomorrow and a council meeting on Wednesday. A clearer picture of where the party goes from here is expected to emerge after the meetings take place.

Despite weathering the crisis of Hurricane Dorian and the COVID-19 pandemic, the FNM won only seven seats in last Thursday’s general election: Killarney, St Anne’s, Long Island, Marco City, East Grand Bahama, Central Grand Bahama and St Barnabas. The last time the party fared so poorly was 1977 when it won only two seats.

According to FNM insiders, people in the party largely blame the lopsided result on Dr Minnis’ risky decision to call an early election despite the fact that Bahamians have given decisive victories to opposition parties in three consecutive elections, all of which were held amid high unemployment rates and a stagnant if not struggling economy. The last time the country had a close election was 2007 when the unemployment rate stood at five percent.

Yesterday, at least one former Cabinet minister, speaking anonymously to discuss sensitive matters, rejected the view that the timing of the election cost the party.

“Incumbents lose elections in this country, whether today or in May or whenever, you lose,” he said.

Some FNMs yesterday griped that the party was less prepared for the early election than the PLP, which they believe anticipated Dr Minnis’ early election call and ran a disciplined campaign.

FNMs even suspect the party’s base of supporters turned out in fewer numbers than PLP supporters did for their party in 2017.

“We couldn’t galvanise our base,” one insider, who spoke anonymously to discuss internal affairs, said yesterday.

“FNMs stayed home,” he said. “I was getting calls all over from polling stations saying FNMs were staying home.”

As the post-mortem begins, the party will likely be keen to avoid the drama and infighting that characterised its time in opposition between 2012 and 2017. That drama culminated in a move to remove Dr Minnis as leader of the official opposition.

Sources yesterday said if an FNM convention is held today, the frontrunner and likely winner would be Mr Pintard.

A former chairman of the party, Mr Pintard is seen as an experienced figure who might be willing to embrace the kinds of bold policies that could disrupt the status quo of governance in the country and prevent the cycle of election turnovers.

Mr Pintard, who won a larger percentage of votes than any other FNM candidate, refused to discuss the leadership future of the FNM yesterday, but credited his victory to the campaign his team waged.

“I have said previously that our team is made up of persons who have historically supported the Free National Movement, have previously supported the PLP and who may still identify as such but made it clear to us that they are supporting my candidacy and the approach my team has in working with with people of the same political persuasion,” he said.

“One of the big takeaways for me is that persons respond to a politics that is less tribalistic I believe and I might just use the example of St Barnabas and Marco City, as an example. Marco City is a constituency that had changed hands in four consecutive elections.”

Mr Pintard and Dr Minnis reportedly did not enjoy a close relationship, and Mr Pintard was said to be isolated in the Minnis Cabinet. Mr Thompson, meanwhile, is viewed as Dr Minnis’ preferred successor. Dr Minnis named Mr Thompson state minister for finance after the resignation of former Finance Minister Peter Turnquest.

Meanwhile, Mr Cartwright is attracting attention for notably holding on to an inner-city constituency in an election wave won by the PLP. However, he is the only one of the favourites who has never served in Cabinet, and some FNMs believe he would be better suited for the deputy leader role.

As for Dr Sands, who lost the race in Elizabeth, some party supporters are still holding out hope that he will be elected leader someday. In the weeks leading up to the general election, he secured the backing of former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham and is said to enjoy the support of those in the party who still hold Mr Ingraham to the highest esteem.