The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

AFTER British Prime Minister David Cameron resigned following his country's referendum vote to leave the European Union (EU), many Bahamians asked on Friday why Prime Minister Perry Christie did not do the same thing after the June 7 referendum on gender equality

On social media and on radio talk-shows, some Bahamians said the overwhelming rejection of the Constitutional Referendum was a message to the Christie Administration that should have prompted Mr Christie to resign.  

One Facebook user, referencing Mr Cameron's decision, said: "This is what a real leader with any integrity does when they lose a referendum."

Another posted: "I'm still waiting on Christie to step down … late again!"

Peter Turnquest, Deputy Leader of the Free National Movement (FNM), took to the same medium to say: "Once again mother England has taught us how the Westminster system of government is to function."

Democratic National Alliance (DNA) leader Branville McCartney also released a statement yesterday calling for Mr Christie to follow Mr Cameron's example.

Mr Christie was asked about resigning by The Tribune two weeks ago after Fort Charlotte MP Dr Andre Rollins called for him to do so.

Dr Rollins argued that the "no" vote was an expression of no confidence in his leadership.

Mr Christie dismissed the argument, knocking the messenger more so than responding to the message.

"Dr Rollins has no currency with me whatsoever," he said. "His views are not appreciated by me. It's his expression. He will be on the ballot (and) he will be able to say to the people of the Bahamas that the Prime Minister did not step down, show him what you think of it all. All of that will happen during the course of a general election."

Despite references to Westminster conventions, it is not clear that there is a convention that elected leaders under such systems resign when their position in a vote is rejected - even if they initiated the referendum, as did both Mr Christie and Mr Cameron.

"There is no such convention," attorney Wayne Munroe, QC, told The Tribune on Friday.

Furthermore, there is little parallel between the nature of the issues put before people in the recent referendums in the Bahamas and the United Kingdom.

Observers say the person that heads efforts to negotiate the UK's exit from the EU - one of the most significant events the country will face in decades - should be someone who, unlike Mr Cameron, supported the move to exit the EU in the first place.  

Bahamians, by contrast, voted to maintain the status quo over individual rights in the Constitution, creating no new practical dynamics with which the Christie Administration must grapple.

"If there was a referendum on whether the country should lose its independence and people went against the government and voted yes, then that would be different," Mr Munroe said, emphasising that the two situations are not equivalent.

Yet for critics of the government, Mr Christie's decision not to resign after the two referendums held in this term highlights the lack of accountability in Bahamian politics.

"Prime MInister Christie has insulted the will of the Bahamian people and thumbed his nose at them following the results of the first gambling referendum," Mr Turnquest said. "Despite a no vote, PM Christie legalised web shop gambling anyway. Following the 'no' vote on the citizenship bills earlier this month, PM Christie sought to blame everyone, including the leader of the opposition, rather than take responsibility by doing the honourable thing."