Fmr PM: The People Will Decide Which Party I Join, if There’s a Clean Split

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NASSAU , BAHAMAS – Since it was announced that former Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis will contest the 2026 general election as an independent, there’s been a lot of speculation about his place in the party.

While Free National Movement Chairman Dr. Duane Sands said Minnis will be officially removed from the party in “due course,” Dr. Minnis, throwing a curveball, shared a possible post-election scenario with me.

Dr. Hubert Minnis – Independent Candidate, Killarney

“If the election was a draw, 20/20, and Killarney wins, what would you do, saying that you came from the FNM? The answer is simple. I ran independent. I was the voice of the people. The people voted for me. I would have to go back to the people and listen to the people, and I would do what they directed. They would decide which one I go to.”

It’s a surprising chapter to a story that’s had many turns.

Both the FNM and Minnis have been seeking to distance themselves from each other publicly leading up to the election.

Of course, he’s not been shy in his criticism of the governing Progressive Liberal Party, his direct opponents in public life since 2007.

Minnis is still doubling down.

Dr. Hubert Minnis – Independent Candidate, Killarney

“God forbid you had a three-way tie, COI, FNM, PLP, and the people say I have to go with COI, I have to go with COI. If the people say I have to go to FNM, I have to go to FNM. If they say you have to go with PLP, I have to go to PLP. A year later, people say, ‘Listen man, you went with this party, they don’t know what the hell they’re doing. You know they’re not following through, they’re not doing the best for the people, we want you to go with this one.’ I would have to go back, talk to the people.”

Believe it or not, it’s something that’s happened before.

Back in 1967, independent Alvin Braynen and Randol Fawkes, leader of the Labour Party, threw their support behind the Progressive Liberal Party, which tied votes with the United Bahamian Party.

Both had 18 seats, handing the PLP the government.

The way Minnis sees it, an independent candidate has a lot of power: the ability to table legislation, hold the government accountable, and, in this hypothetical case, possibly decide who the next government will be.

Dr. Hubert Minnis – Independent Candidate, Killarney

“As an independent candidate, I am the voice and the representative of the people, not any political party. So if the people say that’s the one, I choose; if the people say go right, that’s the one I choose.”