By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Staff Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

MAURICE Moore, a founding member of the Free National Movement (FNM), has broken his silence on the political defection of Central Grand Bahama MP Iram Lewis, calling it a “total disrespect” to himself and the constituents who helped elect him under the FNM’s banner.

Mr Moore, often referred to as one of the “founding fathers of the FNM party in Grand Bahama”, did not mince words in rebuking Mr Lewis over his decision last week to leave the FNM and align himself with the Coalition of Independents (COI), a party led by Lincoln Bain.

Mr Lewis, first elected in 2017 and re-elected in 2021 under the FNM, announced his switch to the COI on April 2 in Parliament — a move that shocked senior members of the party and grassroots supporters alike.

For more than two decades, Central Grand Bahama has been considered a safe seat for the FNM. Neko Grant, the first MP for the newly created constituency in 1992, held the seat until his retirement in 2016. Mr Lewis, a political newcomer at the time, was selected to replace him with the support of Mr Moore.

“I am not at all impressed with how he behaved. If that’s the way he wants to deal with it then so be it,” Mr Moore said. “He can’t win in Central Grand Bahama no more because you don’t do what you feel like and then expect the constituents to support you.”

Mr Moore said Mr Lewis never reached out to him or the constituents before making the switch, despite the role they played in his political rise.

“He was not a good representative, so I don’t know how he expects Central Grand Bahama to support him,” he said. “I was instrumental in helping him get elected here because this is my constituency. This is where I live. But he did not have the common decency to even talk to me about it. So I am not impressed at all and I believe this is the beginning of his end in politics.”

Calling Mr Lewis’s decision “absolute nonsense,” Mr Moore added: “It must be some personal reasons why he is doing it. But if he was seeking to advance himself politically, joining with them ain’t going to help him. So, I don’t know, maybe there is some other reason.”

Many in the FNM have expressed a sense of betrayal over the defection, especially in Grand Bahama, where constituents have criticised Mr Lewis. Some residents wrote letters to party leadership expressing their dissatisfaction and opposition to Lewis running as the FNM candidate in the next general election.

Mr Moore said: “Leaving the constituency that I helped you get into, without even the common decency of telling me what he was doing or asking me what I think, I am disappointed. He did not have the common courtesy to talk to me about it. I am disappointed in his behavior — totally disappointed.”

Asked who he believes should replace Mr Lewis as the FNM’s candidate, Mr Moore declined to comment. However, on Monday, FNM leader Michael Pintard addressed supporters at a zone meeting in Freeport, vowing that the party will reclaim the seat.

“At the end of the day, I want to say to you that while we appreciate our brother, bad decisions and poor judgment must be rewarded with the most significant cut hip he has ever seen,” Mr Pintard said.

He described Mr Lewis’s defection as a betrayal of the FNM and criticised the former MP for failing to consult the constituents of Central Grand Bahama before leaving.

“I regret that a wiser decision was not made — not so much not to go, but at least to have had a conversation with you,” he said.

He added: “We don’t have a problem paying out the $150,000 salary on your behalf, but we expect accountability in return. You should not have a problem taking criticism because, at the end of the day, all of us must listen in humility to the people we work for. We work for you.”

On Thursday, COI Leader Lincoln Bain is expected to meet with constituents at the YMTA to officially introduce Mr Lewis as the party’s new MP for Central Grand Bahama.