The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Perry Christie warned Free National Movement (FNM) Leader Dr Hubert Minnis Friday night that the PLP is cutting him some “slack” before waging a campaign that highlights the terrible things opposition members have said about him.

“The people who are against him are the people who was in his party,” Mr Christie said. “They’re the people who said never never never. They’re the people who defined him. And we are going to give him all the slack he needs right now because in his own record, what every one of them said about him, and they really ought to know him better than us and he might as well know now we are going to publish what they said about him. So start working my brother and try to find the explanations for why they said so many things about you and no matter how much the newspapers try to shine you up and brush you off, they said some things about you too.”

Mr Christie’s comments came during an event at the Progressive Liberal Party’s (PLP) headquarters where the party ratified five candidates for the next general election: Senator Julian Russell for Central Grand Bahama, former Senator Cheryl Bazard for St. Barnabas, Glendon Rolle for Long Island, Dr. Charles Clarke for St. Annes and Butch Scavella for South and Central Eleuthera.

A candidate was expected to be ratified for the Freetown constituency, but that ratification has been postponed as the battle has been a hotly contested one between Senator Frank Smith and attorney Wayne Munroe.

“We have just one more (ratification) and we will undertake to engage in the pathway to resolving that particular challenge and contrary to what everyone has said, it will be resolved without conflict,” Mr Christie said about the controversy.

“We are a democratic functioning party. We do things the right way and we always try to bring a resolution to our challenges where in the final analysis what the party does is accepted and deemed to be well done. There should be no difference in our approach with respect to Freetown. We are going to win Freetown and the candidate who is given the privilege to represent the PLP will have the burden of winning that seat for us.”

During the ratification celebration, which saw hundreds turn out in a celebratory mood, Mr Christie warned PLP supporters that the party is being attacked from all sides.

“The forces against us are being lined up,” he said. “There are even feelings of desperation, at all costs let’s stop the PLP. Let us tell them that they cannot stop the Progressive Liberal Party. Our party is connected to the spirit of the nation. Our party is connected to the aspiration of the young people in this country. Look this evening at the quality of the candidates who have been ratified by the National General Council. Look at what they bring and compare them to those who run for other parties in this country.”