NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Speaker of the House of Assembly Halson Moultrie yesterday strongly denied claims that he made a deal with the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) to “split” votes in the upcoming general election.
His comments came on the heels of an article published in The Punch that allegedly suggested otherwise.
In a statement released Sunday night, Moultrie, who recently resigned from the Free National Movement (FNM), said: “In response to the fabricated, fake and politically mischievous headline story appearing in The Punch tabloid on Thursday, February 11, 2021, I adopt and reiterate the words of the late founder and leader of the Free National Movement: ‘I am not available for under-the-table deals.’”
He added: “There has been no discussion with, no offer and no deal between the speaker and the PLP.
“The people of The Bahamas are hereby reassured that even if such an offer or proposal had been made, it would have been flatly rejected as the proposal from the prime minister was.”
When Moultrie resigned on February 4, becoming the third elected FNM to resign from the party under the Minnis administration, he cited a “divergent and untenable” relationship with the party and said he intended to continue serving as an independent speaker until the House is prorogued to replace him or dissolved for a general election.
The speaker continued: “Should the name D Halson Moultrie appear on an election ballot as an adequately funded independent candidate, it would be for love of country, the furtherance of democracy and good governance and most certainly would be to win the majority of votes and not to split the FNM’s vote.”
Moultrie railed against the article, claiming its publication “raises issues of privilege and contempt of Parliament contrary to the Rules of Procedure of the House of Assembly and the powers and privileges (Senate and House of Assembly) Act”.
He further accused it of being a “paid political advertisement” intended to undermine both the Office of the Speaker and Parliament itself, slamming it as “diabolical in origin; pathological in nature and intent; sycophantic in its objective and desired results; and yellow journalism in its nastiest and ugliest form”.
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