EDITOR, The Tribune. 

FIRST of I would like to extend sincere condolences to the family of the late Vaughn Miller. Not only was he a well-known politician, Progressive Liberal Party Cabinet minister, radio personality and environmental activist, he was also a devout born-again Christian.

Miller was a very good Bible preacher and teacher. I recall him ministering in a Nazarene church over 16 to 17 years ago on the Old Testament Book of Nehemiah. His message was about rebuilding the walls. I can never forget that timely message. Miller’s death is simply a transition from earth to heaven. Saint Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:8 that to be absent from this body is to be present with the Lord. I read in American evangelical writer Randy Alcorn’s book Heaven that this earth is the closest sinners will ever get to heaven while it is the closest believers will get to hell. 

Now that Miller has been funeralised, all eyes are now on the November 24 by-election date. It is a given that the PLP candidate Senator Darron Pickstock is the perceived favorite to win the Golden Isles by-election, owing to his party holding the reins of power. The governing party has in its possession the resources of the state to pump into Golden Isles over the next several weeks, with the aim of wooing voters. In this regard, the Free National Movement, in the event the opposition party chooses to run Brian Brown, is at a disadvantage.

But I believe that the recent unrest with the Bahamas Union of Teachers and the Bahamas Public Service Union over a promised pay increase has somewhat leveled the playing field. This industrial unrest couldn’t have come at a more inopportune time. It is an indication that the PLP’s lengthy honeymoon period, spanning four years, has come at an end. This protracted grace period was brought on by the PTSD caused by the previous Minnis administration. Having said that, this upcoming by-election is giving me Marco City 1990 by-election vibes. 

After FNM co-founder Sir Cecil Wallace-Whitfield died of cancer in 1990, the FNM fielded a young Grand Bahama based attorney named David Thompson to retain that Family Island seat for the opposition party. The PLP, under Sir Lynden O Pindling, fielded Albert Gray, who had worked at the Grand Bahama Port Authority. The FNM won. I believe that this was the first ever by-election victory for the FNM. The party went on to win the general election two years later on August 19, 1992. Will we witness a similar scenario in Golden Isles, in the event the FNM runs? 

While I am on the outside looking in, I believe that the opposition party should at least contest the by-election. To not do so would expose the party to allegations of cowardice. I don’t believe that it would be a good look not to contest this election while the upstart Coalition of Independents does so. That would be interpreted in some circles as the FNM abdicating its position as His Majesty’s Loyal Opposition. It would also be viewed as the party conceding defeat. Truth be told, this election will be a referendum on the governing party.

The governing party continues to tout its success. A loss for the PLP would be greatly demoralising and an omen that greater trouble lies ahead at the polls. The FNM really has nothing to lose. Despite all of its challenges, a win would present the FNM as a legitimate alternative to the governing PLP. If Brian Brown is already working the grounds, then he should be allowed to run. Perhaps Brown will be able to accomplish what David Thompson did 35 years ago in Marco City.

KEVIN EVANS

Freeport, Grand Bahama

October 27, 2025.