NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Free National Movement (FNM) Chairman Carl Culmer said yesterday he does not believe Speaker of the House of Assembly Halson Moultrie’s resignation from the FNM has damaged the party or its chances of winning the Nassau Village seat or the election.
Moultrie, the Nassau Village MP, resigned last week, citing an untenable relationship with the governing party.
He said he will stay on as the speaker until the House is prorogued to replace him or dissolved for a general election.
In a brief statement yesterday, the FNM said: “We have received Speaker D Halson Moultrie’s resignation from the FNM and look forward to continuing to work with the Nassau Village MP to uphold democracy, transparency and accountability, all of which are core values of the FNM’s agenda.”
When contacted, Culmer told Eyewitness News: “We will win Nassau Village. It’s like when a guy is losing the game of marbles, he wants to pick up all the marbles in the game and go with it. No, the FNM will win Nassau Village.
“The FNM will win the government.
“So, at the end of the day, the persons who live in the constituency will determine who will win in the next election. He (Moultrie) throws a tantrum and when he can’t get his way, he picks up the marbles and goes.”
Culmer added that the Nassau Village Constituency Association does not support the resignation and claimed Moultrie has “not carried one member of the association with him”.
The association was expected to meet last Friday to discuss the way forward, including determining and making a recommendation on the next candidate for the area.
Asked whether the resignation damages the party in the eyes of the electorate, the FNM chairman said: “No, no, no.”
Culmer also touched on Moultrie’s concerns surrounding his office.
“All the speakers were in the office he was in for quite some time.
“We had Speaker Ingraham, Speaker Major, all of those [speakers] were in the same office.
“And all of a sudden, the office is not good enough for him.
“He’s been talking about the independence of the speaker.
“He has been throwing hints out for quite some time.
“The PLP (Progressive Liberal Party) has asked the government to move a no confidence vote in him for quite some time, so it would be interesting now to see if the PLP would support it.”
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