The Tribune

By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMAS Constitution Party Leader S Ali McIntosh yesterday suggested that the Christie administration’s perceived alignment with the People’s Republic of China has disqualified the party and its members from contesting seats in the upcoming general election, citing Article 48 (1) b of the Constitution.

In a statement read on the steps of the House of Assembly, Ms McIntosh claimed that by virtue of this clause, the entire Christie administration does not qualify to be nominated or re-elected to the House of Assembly due to its perceived association with the Export Import Bank of China, China Construction America and the new owners of the Baha Mar project.

Article 48 (1) b says no person shall be qualified to be elected as a member of Parliament who is, by virtue of their own act, under any acknowledgement of allegiance, obedience or adherence to a foreign power or state.

Ms McIntosh cited the Supreme Court’s decision to seal documents relating to Baha Mar’s mobilisation, which officials said was the request of the EXIM Bank, to bolster her claim. She said the deal was kept under wraps against the best interest of the Bahamian people.

“This recommendation of the sealing of the documents by the Supreme Court was requested by the China Import-Export Bank, the state-run corporation of the People’s Republic of China,” she said.

“In the second instance, the Bahamas government seemed to have given its allegiance to the PRC by taking a side in favour of the People’s Republic of China, EXIM Bank, against the original visionnaire and owner of the Baha Mar project, to facilitate its forced winding-up of the project.

“It is now clear, that in addition to the Christie government’s involvement in this debacle with the People’s Republic of China, a sovereign state, against the best interest of the Bahamian state, their moral authority for governance is now in a deficit, and should not be returned to this honourable House.

“In fact, should Perry Christie, and all members of his Cabinet be nominated (today), their nomination should be declared null and void.”

She continued: “Notwithstanding, the lack of proper stewardship over the past 60 months, where tens of millions of dollars have been misappropriated, mismanaged and certainly squandered, leaving the economy in dire straits, and the Consolidated Fund empty; the Bahamian people must demand that Perry Christie and his Cabinet be made to account for these matters before they can be nominated for this House.”

Ms McIntosh encouraged the Bahamian people to look among the many persons who will make themselves available to serve and elect men and women who are seeking to manage the country’s resources with “transparency, dignity and integrity.”

“In an election, the people have a right to vote for whatever party they desire … however, a vote for a BCP government will articulate and implement God’s plan for the continued safety, economic security and prosperity of all the people of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. The BCP is hope for Bahamaland.”

The BCP yesterday also announced plans to run 25 candidates in next month’s election. The party ran five candidates in the 2012 general election and collectively received less than 100 votes.

The party, described as a fringe group by political pundits, announced the “indefinite” suspension of its national campaign last August, with Ms McIntosh at the time citing the party’s need to “evaluate” its “viability in the campaign for the governance of the nation” in the lead-up to the general election.

The party returned with a national platform last November.