NASSAU, Bahamas, CMC -The two main political parties have launched their campaign for the May 12 general election, with Prime Minister Phillip Davis promising that his administration would go further in the next term, while the main opposition Free National Movement (FNM) is urging voters to hit the “reset button”.
Davis, leading the ruling Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) into the general election, told supporters that in 31 days, on May 13, “what kind of leader do you want to wake up to?
“Our Progressive Liberal Party is united behind a strong vision, with detailed plans and proven teamwork,” Davis said, adding, “We cannot risk having a prime minister who is controlled by someone else”.
He said that the FNM is “praying that the country continues on the path of changing administrations every five years”.
Political observers note that no party has been elected to a second consecutive term since the Hubert Ingraham-led FNM in 1997.
“They don’t care that that’s not good for national development, to start over again constantly. They have no genuine plan for The Bahamas. They have no genuine vision for the Bahamian people.
“If this election is about the economy, they lose. If it is about education, they lose. If it is about energy, they lose. If it is about workers, they lose. If it is about opportunity, they lose,” Davis told supporters.
But FNM leader, Michael Pintard, in urging supporters to hit the “reset button,” said the country needs a change and that the FNM is the “right party” with the “right team” for The Bahamas.
“The government continues to spin the story that they would be better for Grand Bahama,” he said at the party’s headquarters, adding that when Bahamians needed leadership at different times in the country’s history, they turned to the FNM.
“When this island needed investment, we worked with all stakeholders to ensure that we created a climate where people can have confidence that they can invest in The Bahamas without someone coming to ask for 10 percent. We are different than that other group,” he said.
“So here we are tonight, in the midst of another historic moment where we need to hit the reset button in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. I submit to you tonight that we are the right party with the right team, with the right heart to deliver better for the Bahamian people,” he added.
Davis told supporters that the only way the FNM can win the general election is to try to make Bahamians hate the PLP, adding that the opposition is using immigration matters to divide the population.
“They’re trying to rewrite history and ignore our record on immigration,” Davis said, adding, “It is outrageous that the FNM, the party that weakened our passport legislation, is now using it as an election campaign issue, while we are left dealing with the mess they created.
“While they did nothing and left this country wide open to illegal immigration, we got to work and fixed what they broke. Since 2021, this government has carried out over 15,000 repatriations and intercepted nearly 12,000 migrants at sea,” Davis said, adding, “We hired 300 new immigration officers. We commissioned new patrol vessels. We expanded coastal radar to Ragged Island and Inagua.
“We did not just talk about immigration. We acted on it,” he said, promising to introduce a national biometric immigration system, “so that for the first time in our history, we know not just who arrived, but who left.
“We will crack down on employers who exploit undocumented labor to undercut Bahamian workers. We will fully digitize the immigration system: online, transparent, and trackable.
“The full details are set out in our plans, our ‘Blueprint for Progress’. Read it for yourselves,” he told supporters, adding, “The Bahamas belongs to Bahamians. Our waters, our borders, our jobs, our future. We will protect all of it.”
The PLP leader said that the party is ahead in its reelection bid and accused the FNM of having no concise plan, insisting that Pintard is unprepared to lead the country.
“When you want to get things done, you need good leadership. When you want to get big things done, you need experienced leadership, tested leadership,” Davis said that the infighting in the opposition party has led to former prime minister Dr. Hubert Minnis contesting the election as an independent candidate.
Minnis plans to run as an independent in Killarney, a seat he won with 51 percent of the votes in the last election.
“Politics is not a license for cruelty. Politics must never become a reason to despise one another. Politics must never persuade us that winning matters more than who we become in the process.”
At his party’s launch, Pintard criticized some of the policies of the ruling administration, noting that Minister of National Security Wayne Munroe has said that another PLP administration would strengthen the protection of the country’s borders with clearer rules, digital enforcement, and real consequences.
Pintard said the government could have passed laws to effect these changes during its current term, rather than proroguing Parliament and calling an election five months early.
“I find it interesting that here is a government given a five-year contract that decides to walk off the job with five months left on the contract and then comes and tells you that all of these wonderful things that we are promising you, yet again, you can trust us to deliver.
“So if you were serious about stiffer penalties for violators of our laws and those who can compromise our sovereignty, you just need one more parliamentary session to pass those laws. You have five months left on your contract, but instead of convening Parliament to deal with the things they continue to promise now, they stepped off the job to ask you to renew a contract that has not yet expired. I wonder why,” Pintard said.
He said the FNM is different from the PLP, telling supporters the party he leads intends to follow through with the promises laid out in its manifesto.
“I promise you, I assure you, the FNM is different. We’ve been clear with the Bahamian people about who we are, what we stand for, and what we intend to do.
“With our manifesto, you can hold us to what we have promised. We believe political parties should be competing on how to fulfill the National Development Plan, not just our narrow plans, but our National Development Plan, our vision for the next 20, 30, 40 years, and our manifesto lays out the case.”
and then 