The Tribune

By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Chief Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

FREE National Movement (FNM) candidate for Carmichael Desmond Bannister yesterday said he would not seek a leadership post in the party at its next convention.

Instead he pointed to current leader Dr Hubert Minnis and former Deputy Leader Loretta Butler-Turner as qualified and respectable candidates, who were both capable of leading the party into the next general election.

Mr Bannister, who was ratified as a candidate by the party on Monday, said he hopes the convention - scheduled for November - will unify the party and restore confidence in the public of the FNM’s ability to govern.

“Bahamian people are looking for an alternative to the current government and they are telling me everywhere I go, they are seriously looking for it,” said Mr Bannister, who served as a Cabinet minister in the last Ingraham administration.

“The FNM will be that alternative if we give Bahamians the confidence that we can govern. We have to pull together and show our fellow countrymen that we are capable of leading. I’m hoping that from the convention we will see that togetherness in the party that gives Bahamians the confidence in the organisation.

“Desmond Bannister has no intention of running for leadership,” he added. “My interest is the people of Carmichael. I want to serve them and do the best I can.”

The FNM plans to hold its national convention in November; however, some members have called for an earlier date to address the deepening divide in the party over its leadership.

Yesterday, Mr Bannister said that although Dr Minnis has been the subject of intense criticism, the Killarney MP enjoys a high degree of respect from the public.

“We focus on leaders,” he said. “Dr Minnis is the current leader and he has had a difficult position as leader for over four years in the party. It must have been an incredible strain and he has proven in personal life that he has been able to handle any number of challenges that he has faced.”

Mr Bannister added: “As for the other persons who at any stage sought (to be) leader, Loretta Butler-Turner is also extremely capable and highly regarded. Whoever becomes leader, whether Dr Minnis remains or she becomes leader, the party will have a firm leader that people have a high degree of respect for. None have been involved in any scandalous conduct, which requires them to explain themselves. They are citizens above reproach.”

Mr Bannister represented the Carmichael constituency from 2007 to 2012. He ran unsuccessfully in the North Andros constituency in 2012. He also served as an FNM senator this term until he resigned in 2013.