By Krystel Rolle ~ Guardian Staff Reporter ~ krystel@nasguard.com:
Progressive Liberal Party Leader Perry Christie said yesterday he is satisfied that Ryan Pinder did what he needed to do in order to be qualified to offer himself in the Elizabeth by-election last Tuesday and challenged the Free National Movement to prove otherwise in court.
Christie was responding to Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham's announcement that the Free National Movement will raise the question of whether Pinder was in fact qualified in the first place to run as a candidate in the recent poll.
"For the prime minister to raise that issue tells me that he knows that we are going to win that Election Court case," said Christie during a news conference at the PLP's headquarters.
"I'm comforted by the fact that by raising that question, Ingraham knows that. At all material times the prime minister must be aware of the fact that not only he has intelligence; that we understand the issues that affect our candidate and we accept the assurance that [he is a] Bahamian citizen and otherwise fully qualified to offer himself for the by-election for Elizabeth. So when Ryan Pinder went forth, we were satisfied on the basis of all assurances that he was qualified — a qualified candidate to be elected and serve in the Elizabeth constituency."
Christie added: "Now since the prime minister wants to raise it, I just want to go on the principle of law: He who asserts must prove and we leave it to him to make his application and to present his proof."
The Progressive Liberal Party has announced its intention to go to court for the court to decide on five protest votes cast in Pinder's favor during last week's by-election in Elizabeth. The two-day recounted ended with Pinder receiving 1,499 votes to the 1,501 votes that FNM candidate Dr. Duane Sands received.
No winner has been certified, however, as the five PLP protest votes could still impact the outcome of the race, should the court rule them to be valid.
During his party's news conference on Sunday, Ingraham said the FNM would raise the issue of Pinder's qualifications as a preliminary matter.
"When we go to court we will have Duane Sands' passport; we'll say he's a Bahamian," Ingraham said. "We'll say he has never held any other citizenship at any other time. And we will call upon them to show Mr. Ryan Pinder's American passport, to show us where it was marked canceled by the Americans before the nomination day."
Ingraham noted that there is nothing wrong with Bahamian citizens who possess citizenship of another country to run for office in The Bahamas. However, the prime minister added that someone who takes advantage of his citizenship of another country — by voting, working and benefiting from special university rates — is a different story altogether.
"If you've done that, then you need to get rid of that citizenship before you nominate and certainly before you are elected," he said.
February 23, 2010
thenassauguardian
A political blog about Bahamian politics in The Bahamas, Bahamian Politicans - and the entire Bahamas political lot. Bahamian Blogger Dennis Dames keeps you updated on the political news and views throughout the islands of The Bahamas without fear or favor. Bahamian Politicians and the Bahamian Political Arena: Updates one Post at a time on Bahamas Politics and Bahamas Politicans; and their local, regional and international policies and perspectives.