The Tribune

By DANA SMITH

dsmith@tribunemedia.net

PLP candidate Frank Smith and DNA chairman Mark Humes were two familiar faces among the thousands of early voters seen at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium yesterday.

Both men expressed confidence in a win for their respective parties, with Mr Smith saying: "This is the beginning of opening a new chapter in the Bahamas where we get to put in place a new government and I can tell by the enthusiasm you see out here, everyone is excited to participate.

"I believe that this is going to be a history-making election. The good thing is that our base is totally activated - we're energised, and we're ready to go."

The Montagu candidate said PLP candidates have been working diligently in all the constituencies and are "very pleased" with how their campaign has gone so far.

"We are able to compete head-to-head with the FNM," Mr Smith said. "Despite their funding, I don't think that their message is resonating. Their performance over the past five years has really been dismal and they have absolutely no way they could try to attempt to cloak the results that they have delivered for the country. I believe that as a government, they've failed and it's all for the people now to fire them."

When asked if he thought the DNA could pose a threat to a win for his party, Mr Smith said the threat is more to the current governing party.

"They're going to get some votes from the FNM and they're going to get some votes from the PLP," he said. "But I think some statistical analysis has been conducted and empirical data suggest that they're going to be taking more from the FNM than the PLP."

For his part, Mr Humes, the DNA candidate for Ft Charlotte, said his party's overall campaign has been "going pretty well" and that many people are excited the party has made it to election day.

"I'm not going to make any predictions about anything, but I feel good about a lot of stuff," Mr Humes said.

"I think all of our candidates feel pretty good. We're not minding the yellow or the red because I don't know if people are paying attention - there are a lot more who are coming in without colours. That's what we really have to pay attention to. Those are the ones we're really looking at and I feel good about what I'm seeing."

The party chairman also took note that this year's election marks the first time a third party has presented a full slate of candidates.

"I think the Bahamian people are taking a look at that," he said.

"When they see us all together, finally somebody has put together a third party - and a party, a full slate of candidates that they could believe in, and they noticed that we stuck to the message despite everything else.

"Despite all the criticism from the start, we stuck to our guns, we stuck to the message, we stayed focused and you can't ask for more than that. The Bahamian people see this party as a great party."