FORMER Health Minister Dr Duane Sands said that while he is disappointed by the Free National Movement’s election defeat, he is ready to help the party regroup and rebuild.

He also said the party had “drifted away” from some of its core values.

Dr Sands also lost his re-election bid for the Elizabeth constituency to the Progressive Liberal Party’s JoBeth Coleby-Davis.

Ms Coleby-Davis won 1,893 votes to Dr Sands’ 1,516, a difference of 377 votes.

“There are a lot of people who are disappointed, that are shocked, some are jubilant,” Dr Sands told Our News about the election outcome. “What is true is what separates us political opponents is far less than what brings us together as Bahamians. And so today, even though I am disappointed, I am not distressed.”

He said he is looking forward to helping the party rebuild after its defeat.

“I look forward to playing a role in that emergence, that we will rise from the ashes stronger, better, but more committed to the values that define the Free National Movement and certainly I believe that we have drifted away from some of those values.”

Before the election, Dr Sands had been endorsed by former FNM leader and former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham. While on the campaign trail, Mr Ingraham said he hoped Dr Sands would one day get the opportunity to serve as prime minister.