Former MP “determined to continue the work I’ve started”
NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Former Minister of Tourism Obie Wilchcombe won the unofficial vote as the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) candidate nominee for the Bimini constituency in the upcoming general election.
At the PLP’s Bimini Constituency Committee, Wilchcombe received 94 votes against four other aspiring candidates.
He also won the majority vote for the West End area in Grand Bahama on Sunday.
Wilchcombe told Eyewitness News: “I think, over the two days of the runoffs, I think the voice of the people should be loudly heard that they are prepared to continue working with me and me with them, along the path of our growth and development and in the areas that I have outlined to them — economic, social, cultural, health, education — to ensure our that our community and our peoples’ lives are that much better.”
The former Cabinet minister, who served as an MP for the area between 2012 and 2017, lost his seat to the Free National Movement’s (FNM) Pakeisa Parker-Edgecombe in the last general election.
While Parker-Edgecombe received 2,638 votes, Wilchcombe got 2,375 votes — a difference of 263 votes.
The PLP was crushed at the polls in the 2017 election, capturing just four seats in the House compared to the FNM’s 35.
Wilchcombe noted: “I gave consideration about my future and of course there was my determined effort to continue the work I’ve started.
“I believe in certain ideals and I hold strongly to the view that our country could be one of the greatest countries in the world and I believe that I could assist in getting it there.
“But to do that, you have to be in the game and you have to be a full participant.”
Wilchcombe ran for deputy leader of the PLP in 2009 and lost to Philip Brave Davis, who later became the leader of the party after former Prime Minister Perry Christie resigned following the last general election.
The former tourism minister also challenged PLP Chairman Fred Mitchell at the party’s last national convention in 2019 and lost.
At the time, he offered his support to Davis and PLP Deputy Leader Chester Cooper, both of whom ran unopposed.
