NASSAU BAHAMAS — Several members and supporters of the Democratic National Alliance (DNA) staged a protest in Rawson Square yesterday, calling on Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis to “ring the bell” for the next general election.
The group marched down Bay Street into Parliament Square chanting “Minnis got to go” and “ring the bell”.
However, as they began to gather, several officers moved to usher them from in front of the House of Assembly and behind the barricades in Rawson Square.
DNA Leader Arinthia Komolafe told members of the media: “For almost 365 days, we’ve been under emergency orders and the poor decisions by the prime minister has cost jobs, it has cost lives, it has cost livelihoods and we are calling on the prime minister to free us from this misery, to free the Bahamian people from hell and to ring the bell.”
Komolafe said she believes the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) and Free National Movement (FNM) are the same and that it is time for a change in government.
She wants the Bahamian people to look out for the DNA, who she asserted can bring about that change.
In the last general election in 2017, the DNA received a total of 7,577 votes out of 160,407.
Minnis has previously dismissed growing speculation of an early election.
During his presentation of the mid-year budget statement last week, he said he would have to be advised by his team before he makes that decision.
Yesterday, Komolofe said: “Bahamians are being sent home, they cannot eat, they are being evicted from their homes, they cannot get assistance.”
She said the cost of living in The Bahamas is high, from payments for COVID tests to 12 percent value-added tax (VAT), and that Bahamians are having increasing expenses with no assistance in return.
DNA Tall Pines candidate Theophilus Coakley said the people of The Bahamas are tired of the promises by the prime minister.
“We are stressed out. [There are] no jobs; they’re not bringing any money into the country. So, we need him to ring the bell,” he said.
Asked if the public should expect similar exercises in the future, the DNA leader said the Bahamian people have asked them to be active and visible so that is what they are doing.
“You can expect to see us applying the pressure straight until that bell is rung and we walk into the halls of Parliament,” Komolafe said.
Written by Eyewitness News Intern Jade Russell
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