The Tribune

By SANCHESKA DORSETT

Tribune Staff Reporter

sdorsett@tribunemedia.net

DEMOCRATIC National Alliance Leader Branville McCartney said yesterday that Prime Minister Christie’s addition of an extra seat in a perceived “PLP stronghold” shows how desperate the government has become.

During a press conference at DNA headquarters yesterday, Mr McCartney said Mr Christie can “change the boundaries and change the names all he wants” but he cannot change the fact “that the PLP will lose the election”.

Mr McCartney’s comments came one day after Mr Christie tabled the House of Assembly

Revision of Boundaries and Re-distribution of Seats

Order 2017 during the evening session of the House of Assembly.

According to the draft order, voters can expect a new constituency named St Barnabas in New Providence and the renaming of the Montagu seat to “Freetown”.

St Barnabas consists of two polling stations from Centreville, two from Bain and Grants Town, three from Englerston, one from Fort Charlotte, and three from Mt Moriah. It is bordered by Farrington Road, inclusive of Lightbourne Ave, Maxwell Ave, and Haven Ave, Wulff Road, East Street and Thompson Blvd.

Mr Christie explained that the Montagu name was changed to reflect the ancestral history of a major part of the constituency, pointing out that the Freetown seat was included in the 1968 and 1972 elections.

Mr McCartney said in his experience, parties that cut the boundaries right before elections usually “cut themselves out of office”.

“To have 39 seats in a country that has less than 100,000 persons registered and a place that has less than 400,000 people is too much, that is 24 seats now for an island that is 21 by 7,” Mr McCartney said.

“Both parties have done it this way and those parties in the last four election cycles who cut the boundaries, they ended up cutting themselves out of Parliament. This new constituency surrounds Englerston, Bain and Grants Town and Centreville, they put it there to try and secure another seat within the areas they think are PLP strongholds. But I have news for them, the people don’t want the PLP right now.”

Mr McCartney also said he believes the PLP changed the name of Montagu to “confuse voters”.

“They changed Montagu to Freetown to try and change the minds of the people but the bottom line is the people have already made up their minds,” Mr McCartney said.

“They already know how they are going to vote. The people are feeling it in their pockets, they are frustrated so you can change the boundaries and change the names but you cannot change how people are going to vote.”