The Tribune

By PAVEL BAILEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

pbailey@tribunemedia.net

PLP deputy chair Robyn Lynes says she is more than qualified for the position of party chairman despite the Prime Minister’s recent comments that he doesn’t support her candidacy for the role.

In an interview with the press in the morning session of the first day of the 2023 PLP convention at Baha Mar, deputy chair Lynes expressed confidence she could unseat incumbent Fred Mitchell as party chairman.

Ms Lynes said that she disputes Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis’ comments that she did not have his support for the role as she understands he will support whoever ultimately wins.

 “At convention, we don’t have a leader, we select one,” Ms Lynes said. “And so the leader becomes a member with one vote, as do I. And if his (Davis) is a particular person, I am not offended by that. The leader has his choice, he has his vote. If he casts his vote for Fred Mitchell, that’s his choice. I know there are going to be hundreds of PLPs casting their vote for Robyn Lynes.”

 “The Prime Minister supports me now as his deputy chair and whilst he may not vote for me as chairman, he is mature, he is the leader, and leaders understand that after a convention the party comes together and we move with one voice and we speak one tone. And I think that our leader has been in many conventions before, even running himself for various positions. And so he understands this better than most and I know that I certainly will have his support at the end of the day.”

 She said her years of experience in the role of deputy chair makes her a fit candidate for chairman. She also said that if she’s elected she would continue to strengthen the party and establish better ties with PLP branches in New Providence and the Family Islands.

 “I think I’m qualified to be chairman because I’ve served on the party as national vice chair for nine years. And during that time I had many experiences and trainings on party policy, party philosophy, party history, the structure of the party and the organs of the party. I also was assigned responsibilities to be in charge of branches during that time. I was also assigned responsibilities to shadow certain ministries understanding government policies.”

 “As a result of all those years of service and experience, I successfully ran at our 2017 convention for deputy chair. And I’ve been doing the work of chairman as the deputy. If you look at the articles of the constitution my portfolio really covered almost 90 percent of the work. So I think that that time, those years of service, the experience with members, the travelling, all of those things combined with my legal experience and profession, my speaking skills and ability, my people skills have really honed me and prepared me for this role.”

 “If I’m elected chair, I will continue to do a lot of what I’ve already been doing - building our branches, building the apparatuses, the organs and the structures of the party, continue to move throughout the Family Islands, bridging the gap of communication between our Nassau headquarters and all of our family islands. I want to use technology to ensure that family island stalwart counselors and national general consul members are able to be part of the NGC meetings in Nassau without the cost and inconvenience of travel. I also want to bring in our affiliate branches, such as PYL, the men’s branch, women’s branch and the national progressive institute, build their exposure and then, of course, focus on the needs of our members and how those needs can be addressed efficiently and effectively.”

 A party chairman will be selected by the end of the convention on Friday.