NDP chiefs flock to PLP
By TANEKA THOMPSON
Tribune Staff Reporter
tthompson@tribunemedia.net
TEN members of the executive council of the National Development Party, including party leader Renward Wells, have left the fledgling party and joined the Opposition Progressive Liberal Party.
Mr Wells claimed that the former NDP members were not promised any post or nomination in the next general election by the PLP's leadership in exchange for their membership.
The parting members of the NDP said it is Mr Christie's political philosophy and the change in the political landscape over the last month - presumably the emergence of newly formed Democratic National Alliance - that spurred them to cross party lines.
"I have not been given no nomination for nothing and nobody else did," said Mr Wells at a press conference at ALCO House on Balfour Avenue yesterday. "The political landscape over the past month has dramatically changed. There's the introduction of a new element into that equation.
"There are three men vying for the top job of this country and of the three men who are vying for that job, at least from the perspective of me and the others, Mr Christie is the gentlemen who is most able as a transitional leader to position this country and this economy to where we ought to go. I say that unashamedly," he added.
For weeks the fringe party was in discussions with Bamboo Town MP Branville McCartney and was expected to announce its alignment with DNA as a unified third party choice at the polls. The Tribune understands that certain members of the NDP felt that DNA leader Branville McCartney was cold and not receptive to their ideas. The NDP also had an alliance with the Workers' Party, led by Rodney Moncur.
Latore Mackey, former NDP hopeful for the Clifton constituency, explained why discussions with other fringe parties broke down.
"We have went through an exhausting exercise trying to find the vehicle that will not just take the name of a party into a general election but the vehicle that will best take the message of that party. We've tried with the alternative parties, we've tried forming a coalition but there always was some impasse. The NDP bent over backwards trying to accommodate all and sundry but that has proven fruitless, it has become a position whereas we've allowed personalities to take control as opposed to realising that it is the message of deepening the democracy and empowering the people of this country."
A few members decided not to side with the PLP and will carry on the NDP's name.
Still Mr Mackey feels it will have been difficult for the young party to be successful in the next election. He said while the party did not lack ideals, it was short on members, money and notoriety needed to challenge the two major parties.
Since the party's inception in late 2008 the NDP has been critical of the political establishment and the PLP.
When asked to explain the turnaround, Mr Wells said while he did not agree with all of Mr Christie's political choices he was confident the former prime minister was a man who will govern according to the wishes of the people.
"What we have gotten from the PLP is an assurance that in the upcoming campaign and in the government of Perry Christie over the next five years, that the Bahamian people will be first. That is the assurance that we got," said Mr Wells.
In a statement released last night, the PLP welcomed the former NDP members to the party, saying their actions "demonstrate a key difference between the FNM and the PLP."
"The FNM believes in the acquisition of entire political parties through promises for public relations gains," the statement said. "Alternatively, the PLP invites and welcomes the best individuals into our tent. We are prepared to be the next Government of the Bahamas and welcome those who want to contribute to the good governance of the Bahamas.
"The PLP is a good fit for the former NDP leadership because we put people first. The PLP is committed to a new generation, innovative new ideas."
Thursday, May 05, 2011
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