By NICO SCAVELLA
Tribune Staff Reporter
nscavella@tribunemedia.net
DEMOCRATIC National Alliance Leader Branville McCartney said yesterday he has not determined if he will be putting himself forward for re-election as the party’s chief whenever its next convention is called.
Mr McCartney, during a press conference at his law office on Village Road, said the party is currently “restructuring” and will soon determine if there needs to be a leadership change.
However. he said, no date has been determined for when this decision will be made.
He denied rumours that he no longer wishes to be a part of the DNA, insisting that his silence on public matters since the May 10 election was due to travel and because “he thought it was fitting for the government to have an opportunity to do what they have to do”.
The statements by the former Bamboo Town MP came a day after DNA Deputy Leader Chris Mortimer told The Nassau Guardian that he soon expects to become leader of the party.
Mr Mortimer said he believes he has the support of “a number of executives in the DNA” in his leadership bid, and said he also believes he “will have the support of Mr McCartney when I do stretch my wings and become leader of the DNA.”
When asked about the role Mr McCartney would play in the DNA should he become leader, Mr Mortimer said the former Bamboo Town MP would hold an “emeritus position” in the party and be “a part of the brain thrust that determines the ideas and the concepts that we believe will ultimately transform this country.”
When asked if he will again offer himself for the party’s top post, Mr McCartney said: “…In terms of me putting myself forward that has not been determined yet, but no doubt you’ll know what my position would be in that regard.”
When asked by The Tribune if the party planned to make any leadership changes as a result of its election defeat, Mr McCartney said that such a decision could be made at its next convention or a “special meeting” with party executives.
“Right now the party is restructuring,” he said. “The question was asked in relation to what we’re doing. We have to see where we went wrong, what can we do better, how can we make the party better moving forward, and that has been happening. We’ve had meetings—the party has had several meetings since the election. And we’ve said this before and I’ve said this from election night, the party will make that decision and again it’ll either be through a convention or by way of a special meeting moving forward.”
When asked by a reporter to elaborate on what he meant by “restructuring”, Mr McCartney said: “Restructuring in terms of the different organisations within the party, strengthening them and building them.”
He also said the party is currently having an assessment done to determine exactly which factors contributed to its dismal performance in the last election.
The party failed to win any of the 35 seats it contested, and neither did it capture a significant portion of the votes.
The third party captured about 4.7 per cent of the vote, about half the support it received in 2012 when the party was just a year old.
Yesterday, Mr McCartney also addressed his silence on public matters since the general election.
“We just came out of an election, I spoke a lot during the election, I spoke a lot before then, I spoke so much people were saying they were tired of hearing from me,” he said. “And the thing is, let the government get in there and do what they have to do. And I hope they do what they have to do. From day one these things should be in place, certain things should have been in place.
“Had the DNA won, on day one, we would have had certain things in place,” he added. “We’ve had certain legislation ready to go. We’ve actually produced legislation, many things prior to the election, and we would not say we do not have time to deal with a budget and have to go on a PLP’s budget, which the FNM said that they’re doing.
“I mean I find that amazing. I find that absolutely amazing. To say that they didn’t have sufficient time to craft their own budget, they only had a few weeks? That’s unacceptable. So what the Bahamian people really did, a vote for the FNM was indeed a vote for the PLP’s budget. That’s exactly what happened. And I find that amazing.”
Comments
birdiestrachan 7 years, 4 months ago
They must be given credit for not giving up. So many other political parties have done so.
John 7 years, 4 months ago
Had Branville not mis-stepped and took the opposition senate post from Loretta Butler-Turner, and had he not prematurely resigned from that post, and had he continued with talks with the FNM and disbanded the DNA, Branville and at least 9 of his candidates could be sitting members of parliment today. But maybe it was better this way. There was a resounding vote for the FNM and so there has to be no coalition government, no compromise no holding hands under the table. Politics has become a very expensive activity in the Bahamas, and it will be very expensive for Branville to keep a party going for another five years. And when one crunches the election poll numbers of the DNA, they are far from impressive. No one in the DNA came even close to winning his/her seats and that includes.the leader himself. In fact there are few seats, if any, well maybe two or three, where the DNA votes could affect the outcome of the elections. In other words the DNA got an ole fashion, Bahamian cut behind. So unless he wants to keep it going mostly as an expensive hobby, and to feed his own ego, the DNA has no significant impact on politics in the country today. As at now it is a non entity. Of course things change and since there is no compelling reason to do so, McCartney can wait a few months or even a year or two before making his decision to disband the DNA.
ThisIsOurs 7 years, 4 months ago
"1. Mr Mortimer said he believes he has the support of “a number of executives in the DNA” in his leadership bid, and said he also believes he “will have the support of Mr McCartney when I do stretch my wings and become leader of the DNA."
"2. DEMOCRATIC National Alliance Leader Branville McCartney said yesterday he has not determined if he will be putting himself forward for re-election as the party’s chief "
Wow, talk about confusing....
sheeprunner12 7 years, 4 months ago
McCartney and Mortimer need to figure out how to make their private businesses grow and get out of this party politics experiment ............ Bran can sit back now and brag about how he retired Papa in 2012 (and allowed Perry to put the country on life support) .......... That is enough brownie points for the DNA in Bahamian history
SP 7 years, 4 months ago
As with most people, Branville McCartney is his own worst enemy. Had he had the common sense and humility to work with Dr. Minnis after many Months of negotiating before the election, Branville and several of his DNA members would be sitting in Parliament today making valuable contributions to turning the country around.
His demands were totally unreasonable and unfounded. Especially given the fact he had no seats to start with and regardless of the DNA being well funded, how and why would he think he could demand a 19 seat deal with the FNM?
As a former DNA supporter in 2012 elections, it seemed evident in 2017 that Branville was another democratic dictator in the making that also thought too much of himself. This observation combined with what most thinking people considered a very poor judgment call in collaborating with Loretta Butler was more than enough reason to steer clear of the DNA in 2017!
Usually, under Westminster system of governance, a leader that leads to defeat resigns and allow others the opportunity to lead.
Had the PLP and FNM followed the system, they would have shed Perry Christie and Hubert Ingraham decades ago and our country would have been in a much better position today.
However, as familiarity breeds contempt, it also bred collusion, and massive corruption, which not only stifiled the countries growth but threw us back 25 years!
The DNA should indeed persist relentlously in seeking the leadership of the country as the PLP is dead in the water with no hope of capturing the electorates trust. Undoubtably, Branville has much to offer the country, but he is not what we need at this juncture.
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