Mr Stuart said his party was readying itself to be the next government of The Bahamas as Prime Minister Perry Christie is constitutionally mandated to call the elections before May 3, 2007.
“The BDM is planning to run a full slate of candidates in the next general,” he said. “We will be announcing candidates very shortly, in another two months or so. We are now entertaining a number on individuals who have expressed interest in running in various constituencies.”
He added that a lot of disgruntled Bahamians have been calling him this year, expressing a need for a paradigm shift in the country where government would truly be decentralised, allowing each island to control its own affairs. He further noted that there was no major difference between the governing Progressive Liberal Party and the former Free National Movement administration.
The FNM indicated last month that it would be naming its full slate of candidates in May, and the PLP has already announced the nominations of several candidates expected to run again in their constituencies.
Said Mr Stuart: “But I’m getting previous supporters from both parties saying they support what we’ve been doing in the BDM. But it’s not going to be easy and I’m not sitting here thinking that it’s going to happen overnight.”
“We are very, very serious in making sure that the people understand that we are the alternative. The Bahamas needs new leaders, The Bahamas needs new vision, The Bahamas needs new direction,” he added.
The BDM leader then pointed out that unlike some of the smaller political parties in the country, the BDM was not an offshoot of the PLP or FNM.
“I’m not here because I’m angry with the PLP or angry with the FNM,” he stressed. “Quite frankly I’m here because of them. It’s because of those leaders who came before me that I’m able to stand up and speak now. My position is that in order for us to go further, we need new leadership.”
He also highlighted the party’s vision for the future, saying it was the only political group that has created a 40-year plan for The Bahamas. The plan outlines how the party intends to reform the public service, reduce crime, boost tourism, foster economic diversification, carry out constitutional reform and tackle family island development. “We got a lot of flack for that (the plan) in the last election because people thought 40 years was too long,” he said. “But they didn’t understand the importance of long-term planning. We call it the national development plan that will forecast the development of all of our family islands.”
On its website the party has already listed 12 candidates expected to run in the next general elections. They include Mr Stuart who will run again in St. Margaret as he did in the May 2002 general elections. Other candidates include Euthalie Miller: Garden Hills; Sidney Carroll: Blue Hills; Omar Smith: Golden Gates; Dion Stuart: St. Thomas Moore; Henry Dummett: Pinewood; Yvette Cooper Grants & Bain Town; Sammy Bain: Yamacraw; Jermaine Higgs: South Beach; Wayne Johnson: Engleston; Parish Simmons: Adelaide; and Noel St Claude: Fort Charlotte.
By: MINDELL SMALL, The Nassau Guardian
