The Tribune

AS LONG lines formed at voter registration centres yesterday following Sunday’s announcement by the Prime Minister that he would dissolve Parliament on April 11, paving the way for the national election, the question on many minds was obvious - what is the date of the election?

The date is an important question because Bahamians do not travel on election day. They stay at home, close to their voting precinct. Businesses and banks that will not be able to open have to make staffing arrangements. Schools or institutions that are converted into voting precincts have to prepare. So everyone cares about the date.

It is an important question - but not nearly as important as another we believe urgently deserves an honest answer.

What is the Progressive Liberal Party’s succession plan? That is the critical question.

The current Prime Minister, Perry Christie, is 73. Yes, he has the energy of many a man much younger than he is. He can shuffle with the best of them and he still makes it out to Junkanoo on Boxing Day and at New Year.

But he is not the man he was even a few years ago. You can see it in his eyes, in the way he sits, in how tired he looks. The day before he announced his intention to dissolve Parliament, he attended 11 events before flying to Abaco for a rally. This is a man propelled into perpetual action. He is driven by the ambition to create a legacy as the longest serving member of the House of Assembly in Bahamian history and the longest reigning Prime Minister, outdoing even his PLP predecessor Sir Lynden Pindling. That drive could destroy him as it turns him into a suit who sleeps little, worries incessantly and believes he can fight exhaustion through yet one more public appearance. Speech after public speech. Photo op after photo op. Ribbon-cutting after ribbon-cutting. Flight after flight.

This is not about creating the best government for the people of The Bahamas. This is the action of a man hell-bent on leaving a legacy. He is a man for whom even the thought of retirement is anathema. In his mind, he was born to lead and being Prime Minister is his calling.

It is not important whether we believe that what drives this Prime Minister is realistic, whether it is good for the country, bad or even relevant.

What we believe is relevant is that in all of his addresses he has not raised the important question: if something happens to him, and we hope it does not, who will succeed him if the PLP is returned to power?

If age or infirmity or fatigue - all of which are reasonable and realistic scenarios - force him to quit, who will follow? The scenarios of his possible departure are plausible and his successor could lead the country for up to five years. The Bahamian public deserves to know who that surrogate would be. That decision could sway votes. Every party should designate the number two person.

The people of The Bahamas deserve to know and we believe that there are only three possible explanations for why the Prime Minister is not revealing his choice. Either he believes he will be re-elected and live happily in power until the end of the next term or he is concerned that the person he would like to succeed him will not be popular with the public. Not revealing his successor also keeps Cabinet hopefuls doing his bidding and dancing at his feet.

Keeping the succession plan a secret is not a bad political ploy from where he sits but it is unfair to the Bahamian public, who have a right to know.

Then again, it is true to form. A government in the dark that even keeps the succession plan of its well-meaning, but tired and driven 73-year-old Prime Minister a secret should be no surprise.

We urge Prime Minister Christie to reveal the name of the person who would be king when and if he can no longer access the throne if he is re-elected.

While we await the Prime Minister to name his favourite for an unelected prime ministerial role, we urge every Bahamian to register to vote. According to the Cook Political Report, six states in the 2016 presidential election in the United States were decided by two percentage points or less, including Michigan where 47.6 per cent of the population voted for Trump and 47.3 per cent for Hillary Clinton. In 2014, in a by-election following the death of a sitting MP, the Labour Party candidate beat the Liberal Party in the Parliament of South Australia by two votes.

Yours could be the vote that decides the future of The Bahamas. If you have not already registered, please do. This is your chance to make your voice heard and your opinion count.