RIVALS SAY THEY DO NOT FEAR RISK OF LOSING TO DNA
By SANCHESKA BROWN
Tribune Staff Reporter
sbrown@tribunemedia.net
THE PROGRESSIVE Liberal Party and Free National Movement candidates for Bamboo Town said they are not concerned about the possibility of losing to incumbent, Branville McCartney.
When asked what they thought their chances were in Bamboo Town, Renward Wells, the PLP candidate, and Cassius Stuart, the FNM candidate, both said DNA leader Mr McCartney has no chance of retaining his seat.
Mr Wells said: "I don't think its going to be a close race at all. In fact, I am going to win by more than 50 per cent of the vote. Mr McCartney will be pleasantly surprised.
"I know Bamboo Town has been FNM since 1987 but that was because of Tennyson Wells. Mr Wells convinced them that FNM was the better party and now I will convince them that PLP is the way to go.
"Cassius Stuart is my biggest competition, we are both cut from the same cloth. Mr McCartney will be easy to beat."
Mr Stuart agreed that Mr McCartney is no competition and said he won't even get one per cent of the vote.
"Everyone who stood with Mr McCartney now stands with me. He has some support but it is nothing significant," he said.
"The people are tired of persons being elected on the FNM ticket then abandoning them for their own personal interests.
"They always knew Mr McCartney had an ulterior motive because he painted his constituency office green and not red.
"I am going to knock Bran out. The only running he'll be doing is out of Bamboo Town."
The comments from both men came after Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham said Bamboo Town is a "test case" to see which one of the men will emerge as the winner.
He said: "I have taken two gentlemen who wanted to be leaders and put them up as candidates.
"There is another member there, in the person of the Member of Parliament for Bamboo Town, who wants to be a leader."
He added: "We have asked them to fight in their league down there to see which one of them is eligible to be leader. You have to win first."
For his part, Mr McCartney said the fact that the three men, two of whom were at one point leaders of third parties, are running in the same constituency is no coincidence.
He said: "The whole thing is a ploy for Mr Ingraham and Mr Christie to get Renward Wells and Cassius Stuart out of the way to stop them from joining forces.
"They planned this whole thing from the beginning to put us against each other."
The prime minister has indicated that he will not cut the boundaries of Bamboo Town - even if the Boundaries Commission recommends it.
October 12, 2011
tribune242
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.
Showing posts with label Renward Wells Bahamas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Renward Wells Bahamas. Show all posts
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Friday, May 6, 2011
Renward Wells - former National Development Party (NDP) leader says: Mr. Perry Christie is the gentlemen who is most able as a transitional leader to position The Bahamas and its economy to where we ought to go...
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
tribune242
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
tribune242
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Renward Wells - National Development Party (NDP) leader says that his party is still in the "valley of decisions" as it pertains to joining Branville McCartney's Democratic National Alliance (DNA)
NDP considers joining DNA party
tribune242
AN ANNOUNCEMENT is expected by the end of the week as to whether or not the National Development Party (NDP) will join with the Democratic National Alliance (DNA) or remain as a third party force going into the next general election.
According to NDP leader Renward Wells, his party is still in the "valley of decisions" as it pertains to the DNA, which was formed recently by former FNM Minister and now Independent MP Branville McCartney.
However, as it stands, Mr Wells said his party will not be making any comments as there are still a few "things to be worked out in the next couple of days." In the meantime, he said he would rather leave whatever "big announcement" will inevitably come to its "predetermined time."
Rumours have been circulating for weeks that the NDP had already dissolved itself and joined with Mr McCartney's DNA party, with Mr Wells and a few other prominent members of the NDP taking up key leadership roles.
Among the positions being reported, it is rumoured that Mr Wells had been promised the position of chairman, with his deputy leader, Lynden Nairn, becoming the deputy leader of the DNA. La'Tore Mackey, it is reported, would be promoted to the position of secretary general, while Mr McCartney remains as leader of the party.
Last week, Mr Wells indicated that his party would make a decision during that week as to its political future. This decision reportedly came days after activist and businessman Ethric Bowe resigned from the NDP after he was out-voted 18 to two over the group's plans to continue talks with outside political organisations.
On his Facebook page, Mr Bowe claimed a tyre on his car was slashed after the "contentious" meeting.
Mr Bowe left the party because he thought the NDP was "betraying" its core principles, explained Mr Wells, who added that the former's claims of a slashed tyre are unfounded.
However, all of the third party's attempts to amalgamate may be in vain as Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham has dismissed their importance in the upcoming general election.
During a recent business opening, Mr Ingraham foreshadowed that the election will strictly be between the PLP and the FNM.
"Period, full stop ... that's who people are going to decide (from in) the next election of the Bahamas," Mr Ingraham said.
Attempts to reach Mr McCartney for comment were unsuccessful.
April 27, 2011
tribune242
tribune242
AN ANNOUNCEMENT is expected by the end of the week as to whether or not the National Development Party (NDP) will join with the Democratic National Alliance (DNA) or remain as a third party force going into the next general election.
According to NDP leader Renward Wells, his party is still in the "valley of decisions" as it pertains to the DNA, which was formed recently by former FNM Minister and now Independent MP Branville McCartney.
However, as it stands, Mr Wells said his party will not be making any comments as there are still a few "things to be worked out in the next couple of days." In the meantime, he said he would rather leave whatever "big announcement" will inevitably come to its "predetermined time."
Rumours have been circulating for weeks that the NDP had already dissolved itself and joined with Mr McCartney's DNA party, with Mr Wells and a few other prominent members of the NDP taking up key leadership roles.
Among the positions being reported, it is rumoured that Mr Wells had been promised the position of chairman, with his deputy leader, Lynden Nairn, becoming the deputy leader of the DNA. La'Tore Mackey, it is reported, would be promoted to the position of secretary general, while Mr McCartney remains as leader of the party.
Last week, Mr Wells indicated that his party would make a decision during that week as to its political future. This decision reportedly came days after activist and businessman Ethric Bowe resigned from the NDP after he was out-voted 18 to two over the group's plans to continue talks with outside political organisations.
On his Facebook page, Mr Bowe claimed a tyre on his car was slashed after the "contentious" meeting.
Mr Bowe left the party because he thought the NDP was "betraying" its core principles, explained Mr Wells, who added that the former's claims of a slashed tyre are unfounded.
However, all of the third party's attempts to amalgamate may be in vain as Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham has dismissed their importance in the upcoming general election.
During a recent business opening, Mr Ingraham foreshadowed that the election will strictly be between the PLP and the FNM.
"Period, full stop ... that's who people are going to decide (from in) the next election of the Bahamas," Mr Ingraham said.
Attempts to reach Mr McCartney for comment were unsuccessful.
April 27, 2011
tribune242
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)