NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Democratic National Alliance (DNA) candidate for Garden Hill Boykin Smith said yesterday he has set his candidacy with the party aside for now following an alleged physical altercation involving him and a DNA candidate at a recent internal party meeting.
“I am stepping aside and letting the constitution do its thing,” he told Eyewitness News.
“I will follow up with an update on how things are happening internally, if it is resolved internally.
“I anticipate they will make an announcement tomorrow (Monday).”
Asked what he expected the party to announce and whether it could involve his future candidacy, Smith said he was not certain.
“My candidacy is set on the side for now underneath the DNA,” he maintained.
“As of right now, I am considering what I am going to do politically…”
The issue stemmed from internal elections held after former DNA Deputy Leader Buscheme Armbrister stepped down effective June 30 to attend personal matters.
According to the DNA, Komolafe, Steven Michael Nesbitt and Derek Smith were elected leader, deputy leader and chairman respectively at a special congress meeting on July 1, in accordance with the party’s constitution.
Boykin Smith, who appeared on ILTV’s Beyond The Headlines with host Clint Watson last Friday, said he took issue with the electoral process but that his objections were labeled as disrespect.
He said a meeting was insisted upon by the party’s leadership for July 6.
Smith said at the meeting, there continued to be assertions from members that disrespect toward the leader could not be tolerated and the situation quickly escalated, with him allegedly being physically pushed by party members; being told not to record the incident with his cell phone; having his cell phone taken by a DNA candidate and thrown onto the ground, causing damage in the process; and eventually being chased from the room as members shouted at him.
However, Nesbitt gave a different version of events when he appeared on Beyond The Headlines last Tuesday.
He said there was no violence or physical altercation, but some “passionate persons because some persons felt they wanted a third bite of the apple and they were little sore losers”.
According to Nesbitt, who said he saw what unfolded, no one was struck and the matter “calmed down within five minutes”.
But he claimed there was a lot of disrespect espoused to the leader and some individuals took offence to that.
He said the situation was disappointing, but the DNA remains a political family and in “any political party there are going to be situations that persons [are] going to get a little sensitive and have a little emotion, but there was no physical altercation”.
He denied any knowledge of Smith’s phone being smashed.
This article was adjusted to reflect claims made by Smith concerning a physical altercation between himself and a DNA candidate.
