NASSAU, Bahamas, CMC – Prime Minister Phillip Davis has hailed the victory of the ruling Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) in Wednesday’s by-election, saying it is also in recognition of the work undertaken by former government minister Obie Wilchcombe, whose death in late September triggered the poll.
“We wanted to win to honor the memory of Obie,” Davis said, dismissing opposition concerns of votes being bought to ensure victory. The social services and urban development minister died suddenly at 64.
“We turned out our voters. We encouraged our voters, and they voted. It was their job to get their voters out, and it is our job to encourage participation, but yet again, as I said, it is a democratic right for anyone.”
The PLP, which won 32 seats in the September 2021 general election, maintained its commanding position in the 38-seat Parliament when the party’s Kingsley Smith won the West Grand Bahama and Bimini by-election, easily defeating four other candidates.
Smith secured 2,150 votes, taking 57 percent of the total votes cast as against 1, 276 for Bishop Ricardo Grant of the main opposition, Free National Movement’s (FNM) candidate, 307 votes for the Coalition of Independents candidate Lincoln Bain, 28 votes for independent candidate Daquan Swain and four votes for another independent candidate, Terneille Burrow.
Davis said that the by-election race demonstrated the strength of democracy in the Bahamas, reminding the country that there is still much more work to be done to ensure the future socio-economic prosperity of the archipelago.
He said the voters had sent a strong message to the opposition.
“They realized that this administration has only been in for two years. They saw some movement,” Davis said
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