Loretta Butler-Turner at last night's convention.
Reader poll
Who do you think will win the FNM leadership contest?
- Dr Hubert Minnis
- Loretta Butler-Turner
367 total votes.
By KHRISNA VIRGIL
Deputy Chief Reporter
kvirgil@tribunemedia.net
FREE National Movement leader hopeful and Long Island MP Loretta Butler-Turner yesterday accused Killarney MP Dr Hubert Minnis, who hopes to remain at the helm of the organisation, of doing everything possible to “silence” her voice and “steal” the party’s convention.
Mrs Butler-Turner branded Dr Minnis as “devious” and said his actions to allegedly cheat her out of a fair process only shows how threatened he is by her.
Under these conditions, the MP said, the democracy of the party, the convention and the FNM itself is also threatened. She also blamed Dr Minnis for the party’s financial troubles over the staging of the convention.
Mrs Butler-Turner sounded off on Facebook, asserting that she and running mate Senator Dr Duane Sands have not been treated with equity and fairness, but instead were only afforded “disorganisation, half truths and back room deals” from Dr Minnis.
The allegations came after her “Forward Together” campaign complained that Mrs Butler-Turner has only been scheduled 10 minutes, from 9.35pm to 9.45pm on Thursday night, to present her platform.
This, they said, was not sufficient and unfair when compared to Dr Minnis’ allotted time of 9.45pm to 10.30pm Wednesday night for his keynote address.
Her campaign also argued that the requisite information she needed, including the list of voting delegates, was not readily available among other things.
“Our convention is one of my favourite political events. I always look forward to seeing my FNM friends from all over our country. Last night (Tuesday), after weeks of requests, I finally saw the schedule of events for this year’s convention,” she posted to her certified Facebook page yesterday.
“As you know, this year, our party’s leader has left us unable to finance our own convention. I stepped up and made a financial commitment that enables us to gather as a party this week. Since then, there has been nothing but disorganisation, half-truths, and back room deals from our leader. All you need to do is look at the schedule to see how he is trying to keep me and (Senator) Duane Sands from speaking in front of you.”
She continued: “He has done everything he can to silence my voice and steal this convention. The FNM was built on fairness and equality for all Bahamians; his behaviour is not in line with our values. Sadly, this is what we have come to expect from Minnis.
“His deviousness only shows how threatened he is. Under these conditions, the democracy of our party is threatened, our convention is threatened, and the FNM itself is threatened. What is Minnis afraid of?
“Is he afraid of new ideas? Afraid of a woman who can beat the PLP? Is he even afraid of hearing me speak at our convention?
“Do not let him steal this convention from you. Do not allow him to threaten the unity of our party. Any violation of our principles betrays us all. This betrayal of our FNM betrays our nation’s future.”
She urged users to share the Facebook message in a move to show that their voices will not be silenced.
Moments after the nominations closed at the Melià Nassau Beach Hotel, Mrs Butler-Turner told The Tribune that she was disappointed to have not been given a level playing field to present her platform.
Meanwhile, former FNM Chairman Darron Cash insisted that the process had been “corrupt” from the beginning.
He claimed that it was totally biased and in favour of Dr Minnis.
“Loretta Butler-Turner and Senator Duane Sands have gotten no equity in the organisation of this event. It is plain as day when you look at the order of events in the booklet. This is a leader race where both sides are expected to have an opportunity to put forward what their vision for the organisation is.
“They are each responsible for finding $100,000 to underwrite this event. The expectation was if you are the leader of the organisation and you are interested in fair play, balance, the perception is that how you organise this event would be reflective of how you will run a party in need of unity after this event.
“One would have thought that you would have seen more balance in the programme so Dr Minnis gets ample time to outline his vision and Loretta Butler-Turner gets ample time, but she has not.”
When questioned about the concerns, Sidney Collie, who hopes to be re-elected as the party’s chairman, said he was aware of the “Forward Together” campaign’s issues and deferred The Tribune to the party’s Programme Committee.
Nominations closed yesterday where Dr Minnis and Loretta Butler-Turner were nominated for the leadership post of the party.
East Grand Bahama MP Peter Turnquest and Senator Duane Sands were nominated for the deputy leader positions, in addition to former House Speaker Alvin Smith and Mr Collie being named as contenders for the chairman’s post.
Comments
Well_mudda_take_sic 8 years, 3 months ago
The FNM party was left in a shambles by Ingraham coming out of the last general election which made it easy for the leadership of the party to be hijacked by a power hungry incompetent dingbat like Minnis. LBT and the other aggrieved FNM members of parliament need to accept that the FNM party is no longer a viable enterprise in Bahamian politics. This being the case each of them should make it known that they intend to resign from the FNM party at the appropriate time and run in their current constituency as an independent candidate in the next general election with a view to forming a new political party with other independent candidates who are successful in their bid to get elected. Minnis should be left alone to oversee the funeral and proper burial of the FNM party. Ingraham may see fit to attend the bereavement service for the FNM party given the role he played in its death.
Emac 8 years, 3 months ago
Ahhhh...I was a stern LB supporter, but really! All of this boo hah is beginning to turn me off. A woman cannot lead with the emotions of a woman. In other words, she needs to stop all of these emotional outbursts and just do what she intents to do! Politics is dirty- And not just in the Bahamas, but every where in the world. As the old saying goes, "If you can't stand the heat in the kitchen, get out!" People who are vying for top positions will not make it easy for their opponents to surpass them. Sure there should be a democratic process. And it is sickening when someone stoops so low to make the playing field uneven, just for them to remain valid. BUT, the people ain't no fool, we can see what's going on. We need to hear who has the best viable solution to take this country out of the muck and mire and at the same empower our people while propelling the Bahamas forward.
alfalfa 8 years, 3 months ago
Of course Dr. Minnis is trying to win the leadership. Is she not trying to do the same? The difference between the two is she is all over social media whining and bitching about his efforts. Dr. Minnis on the other hand, presented a position of the FNM party uniting to defeat the PLP. Is that not supposed to be the goal of the party? I must admit, him calling her up to the stage was a stroke of genius. Don't short sell this man on his intelligence because he is not a polished speaker. Mr. Ingraham had difficulties in this area as well, but proved to be a dynamic (allbeit a dictatorial) leader. She will have her chance at the podium, and the delegates all will have a chance to decide who the leader will be. Time for her to grow up.
Reality_Check 8 years, 3 months ago
I watched Minnis's speech at the convention last night. True to form, his entire platform is based entirely on bashing the PLP. He made many promises, but offered no details about what he would/could do to make good on his promises. As most of us now know, he's certainly not the brightest crayon in the box and it is therefore easy to understand why he cowers from face to face publicly held debates with his opponents. This man very much prefers to cut deals behind the scenes without so much as a single ray of sunshine. If Minnis should ever become PM, he and his cronies will make Christie and Christie's cronies seem like harmless church choir boys!
Honestman 8 years, 3 months ago
I doubt that very much. Christie et al have taken corruption and incompetence to stratospheric levels. No one can surpass them. If Minnis happens to win then the electorate will simply have to get behind him because at all costs the plague of this PLP administration must be eradicated. On a final point, LBT's antics are doing her no favours whatsoever - she has not handled her leadership bid well. Instead of bleating on about Minnis, she should have focused on her plans to take the country forward.
licks2 8 years, 3 months ago
Enough ALREADY! Man-up! She must have been told by her handlers by now that the public is turned-off by her much whining. . . yinna say that the man is a wimp. . . but so far he is proving to be a "soldier heart". . . who took on the giant. . .now Papa is trying to "team" the lion so that they don't get kicked out of the party all together!! I went out to the "party" on Arawak Cay. . .biggest rally seen since the big two in 2012. . .this man. . .all things being equal. . .will be our next PM! He says he believes in the God of heaven. . .I tend to agree. . .only God could have sustained him through the "bustin in he head" he took from the white faction of the FNM! Now they see that he has the "interest" of the masses. . .without which no political party can win the government! The party is now "healing" by getting Papa to "talk" with doc. . .I think doc will listen to Papa. . .but he must always show Papa he is the leader. . .not Papa. . .JUST LIKE PAPA HAS DONE ALL THROUGH HIS TIME AS PM. . .HE RULED AS A "ONE-MAN BAND". . .ACCORDING TO HIIS OWN WORDS. But I also agree with Papa. . .a one man band government is no longer a good idea. Papa now finds himself "mirrored" back to him in the person of doc. . .one who he trained. . .mentored and choose as the leader of the party after the PLP cleaned their clocks in 2012! Papa did listened. . .but in the end Papa ran his show. . .chopping heads off even if better heads told him not to. . .promoted persons who were clearly not capable to be promoted. . .knock down ideas from men in his own cabinet! We must never forget why Carl Bethel and others were dumped from his cabinet for "opposing" him. . .how he fired persons all over the place. . .some he did in public! Papa tolerated no "vibe" from nobody in his cabinet.
proudloudandfnm 8 years, 3 months ago
Not fair. LBT should be given the exact amount of time as the failed leader...
licks2 8 years, 3 months ago
I AGREE THAT SHE SHOULD BE GIVEN SOME MORE TIME. . .BUT YINNA KNOW HOW THESE THINGS GO. . .NOW SHE IS ONE RADIO AND SAYING THAT SHE MADE A MISTAKE. . .SHE IS SPEAKING FOR 25 MINS. . .AND NOT 10 AS ASSERTED TO THE MEDIA BY LBT!
Sickened 8 years, 3 months ago
Loretta what ever you do when you get the mic tonight, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE don't SHOUT! Speak calmly and don't yell at the audience. This is not Africa... we must be civilized!!
TalRussell 8 years, 3 months ago
Comrade Loretta, with her P.T. Barnum's sideshow act has had her as "big-headed" sidekick Duane to set up her 3-day red circus's "low in interested delegate attendance" tent July 27-29, 2016 on the grounds The Meliá Nassau Beach. By 6:00 pm on Friday, her over-inflated sense of self - will only have managed to further alienate this ridiculous it's all about "me" leadership contender from the Red Movement's 410 gene pool of voting delegates.
You can't just be saying things in your circus's promo materials that ain't so about other people? But then again, it's Mrs. P.T. Barnum.
SP 8 years, 3 months ago
......................................... BLT suffers serious insecurity issues ...............................
We were already forced to endure 5 long years of BLT attempts at indoctrinating us almost daily that she was the best educated, most intelligent individual in the country.
For GODS sake we simply cannot go through any more self praise from this overly inflated, self-centered, egocentric woman!
BLT reeks insecurity every time she opens her mouth and obviously believes if she yell when speaking and act like a bully, it makes her a "stronger" individual.
NEWSFLASH BLT.... Nobody likes a big mouth, uncouth woman no matter what your uncouth friends with the weird eyes behind Lyford Cay gates tells you!
TalRussell 8 years, 3 months ago
(As you know, this year, our party’s leader has left us unable to finance our own convention. I stepped up and made a financial commitment that enables us to gather as a party this week. Since then, there has been nothing but disorganization, half-truths, and back room deals from our leader. All you need to do is look at the schedule to see how he is trying to keep me and (Senator) Duane Sands from speaking in front of you).
----------------Loretta Turner-Butler----------------
Comrades shouldn't the public get a "I Loretta stepped up and made a financial commitment" clarification as to exactly who put up the $100,000. Some have publicly said that it was raised more from a GoFundMe plea to the party's money backers?
ThisIsOurs 8 years, 3 months ago
She's not healed or wise enough to lead this country. The Facebook rant is mind boggling...what would she do if she felt affronted by another country? It's interesting that Duane Sands who must have felt the same disenfranchisement that she did, didn't think of posting an angry complaint on Facebook as a solution. I'm really sorry he's associated himself with this.
viewersmatters 8 years, 3 months ago
I quite sure almost all of the delegates already have their minds then set of who they're voting for, so time length and speeches wouldn't play no major factor in their decisions but their decisions would are made base on what have been happening in the FNM for the past years.
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