The Tribune

By KEILE CAMPBELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

Former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham yesterday said he had no intention of campaigning against Prime Minister Philip Davis seeking a second term, but changed his mind over concerns about the Progressive Liberal Party’s future leadership.

Speaking at a Free National Movement rally on Wednesday night, Mr Ingraham said he reconsidered after reflecting on what a second Davis administration could mean for PLP Fort Charlotte candidate Sebas Bastian potentially rising to become prime minister.

“Now, you know, Brave is my friend. We are on different teams, so we never vote for each other,” Mr Ingraham said. “I had no intention of speaking against his candidacy for a second time.”

However, he said: “When I look around and see what a second time would mean, Sebas being placed on a ladder, on a potential pathway to become prime minister of The Bahamas?”

Mr Ingraham urged Fort Charlotte voters to support FNM candidate Travis Robinson, arguing that stopping Mr Bastian in the constituency would prevent his future rise within the PLP.

“If you want to make sure Sebas doesn't become your prime minister, stop him in Fort Charlotte,” he said.

Mr Ingraham also criticised Mr Bastian’s political history, saying he had previously been associated with the FNM.

“And if anybody comes to you in Fort Charlotte who is not Travis Robinson and tell you they are still FNM, because when I left in 2012 Sebas was FNM, if they tell you to remember they they were FNM say to them simply be gone, I know you not,” he said.

He later questioned why Mr Davis nominated Mr Bastian as a candidate.

“Because after all, you know, Sebas calls Perry Christie daddy, because Perry is his daddy,” Mr Ingraham said. “Perry went against the will of the people in the Bahamas and made Sebas the man he is today.”

Mr Ingraham also argued that wealth should not determine electoral success, recalling the 1997 Fort Charlotte race.

“At the time Zhivargo had a net worth of $14,000. His opponent declared he had a net worth of $14 million,” he said. “And guess what? Fort Charlotte sent Zhivargo to the House and sent the millionaire home.”

Earlier in his address, Mr Ingraham described last week’s advanced poll as “chaotic” and renewed calls for elections to be overseen by an independent and properly resourced commission rather than the government through the Parliamentary Registration Department.

Mr Ingraham said “in some instances the wrong persons were chosen to lead our electoral process”, suggesting this should not have happened.

“But we're not going to dwell on that. We've known in the past how to conduct elections fairly, orderly, and honestly,” he said.

He framed the issue as one of democratic trust, saying the governing party manages the electoral process while the opposition also has a responsibility to ensure the rules are followed.

Mr Ingraham said acceptance of election results depends on public confidence in the process.

“That's one of the reasons why the party with the majority of votes after the election is accepted, not only by the majority, but also by the minority — those who voted against it,” he said.

Despite criticising the organisation of the advanced poll, Mr Ingraham said he was encouraged to see voters standing in “disorganised lines”, calling it “a good display of our democracy”.

He urged FNM supporters to remain in line “no matter how long it takes” and vote for the party on May 12.

Mr Ingraham said he hoped this would be the last election where the conduct of elections remained in the hands of the government.

“I pray this last election in the Bahamas, where the control of the conduct of the election is left in the hands of a government,” he said.

He argued elections should instead be overseen by an independent and properly resourced commission, noting that other countries in the region had already adopted that approach.

“Countries all over our region have determined long ago that conduct of elections should be in the hands of an independent, neutral commission, properly resourced and supplied with employees to do the job,” he said.

Mr Ingraham also called for modernisation of the country’s voting system, saying he hoped this would be the last election requiring voters to carry paper voter cards.

“You know, I've been at many places in the world as an election observer, and find very backward countries have those same cards,” Mr Ingraham said. “They start giving out biometric cards. And only in the Bahamas, in the Caribbean, even Haiti got biometric cards.”

He said his administration attempted to introduce similar reforms more than two decades ago, but the proposal was rejected in a referendum.

“We tried that 23 years ago, when we passed a law in the House to do just that,” he said. “The PLP even support us at that time, but we foolishly, I say in retrospect, put that to a referendum and you say no.”

Mr Ingraham further said he hoped The Bahamas would eventually move away from the practice of marking voters’ fingers with ink after ballots are cast.

Speaking on ballot security, he said FNM poll workers must closely monitor presiding officers and ensure only one ballot is issued to each voter. He also criticised what he alleged occurred at an advanced poll site, claiming ballots were counted improperly and ballot boxes moved without all parties being informed.