“The party will always be very vibrant and strong… The FNM will move from strength to strength”
NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Free National Movement (FNM) Leader Dr Hubert Minnis has called a series of meetings with the party’s executive and council in order to discuss the way forward.
Minnis, who made the comments during an exclusive interview with Eyewitness News yesterday, was responding to speculation in political circles of division in the party and the possibility of him stepping down as leader.
“I’ve heard multiple rumors through social media and in various networks, but I called an official meeting with the members of Parliament, I called a meeting with the executive and I called a meeting with the council,” he said.
“I’m meeting with them so we can discuss the road forward.”
The Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) swept the 2021 General Election, securing 32 out of the 39 seats and unseating the 35-seat Minnis administration.
The FNM secured just seven seats in Parliament, including Minnis in Killarney; Michael Pintard in Marco City; Iram Lewis in Central Grand Bahama; Kwasi Thompson in East Grand Bahama; Adrian White in St Anne’s; Shanendon Cartwright in St Barnabas; and Adrian Gibson in Long Island.
In a statement conceding his party’s defeat at the polls and thanking Bahamians for his term in office, Minnis confirmed his intention to lead the FNM in Parliament as leader of the opposition.
However, there have been reports of party members seeking to make a move against him to oust him.
The FNM has not held a convention since 2016 when former Long Island MP Loretta Butler-Turner and former Elizabeth MP Dr Duane Sands challenged Minnis for leadership.
He was again challenged in December 2016 in an unprecedented move that shocked the country, with seven members of the party’s parliamentary caucus writing the governor general advising that they had lost confidence in Minnis and asking that he be replaced as leader.
Yesterday, Minnis shot down those rumors.
“There are many rumors out there. I cannot discuss at this point what I am going to say to the parliamentarians. I have a meeting with the executives, another meeting with council and we will discuss the way forward,” he said.
“The party will always be very vibrant and strong. The Free National Movement is an excellent party. It has a great legacy, a great history; it was led by great individuals. We still have great individuals a part of the institution. The FNM will move from strength to strength.”
Some 126,495 people cast their ballots, representing 65 percent of the 194,524 people on the voter’s register, according to Parliamentary Registration Department.
This figure is the lowest seen in the modern history of the country, and has been speculated as one of the causes of the Minnis administration’s loss.
The 2017 General Election saw an 88 percent voter turnout.
