COI Leader On PLP Candidate Selection: “There’s A Lot of Hype, But No Substance”

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NASSAU, BAHAMAS – There’s been a lot of talk about the upcoming general election this year and parties are ramping up their ratifications.

Both the Free National Movement and the Progressive Liberal Party have had a lot of fanfare surrounding their process – holding mini-style rallies to announce candidates.

The Coalition of Independents is also stepping up its push to have 41 candidates chosen to represent them.

Party leader Lincoln Bain says the COI is close to finalizing its full slate of candidates, with plans to contest every seat in the country.

“I think there’s a lot of hype, but no substance. I think they want the Bahamian people to forget they’re suffering by dancing and jumping up and partying. I think a lot of chickens are going to be killed in the coming months once election come, because a lot of chicken and bear is gonna be given out (sic). But that’s not gonna save our country. Our country is in a desperate state, and we need to transform.”

That’s Coalition of Independents leader Lincoln Bain weighing in on the governing Progressive Liberal Party’s nomination process, dismissing the party’s public display as more show than solutions.

As political parties accelerate their preparations ahead of the next general election, Bain says his party is nearly finished building out its candidate slate.

The COI leader confirming the COI has already rolled out 37 candidates, with the remaining names expected to be announced soon.

“Our Candidates Committee is vetting the final candidates. We already have 37 candidates that have been rolled out, and we are gonna rule out the remaining four in short order. We’re gonna be running a candidate in every single constituency in the country.”

Bain says the COI plans on running a candidate in every constituency, including the new St. James and Bimini & Berry Islands seats.

He says interviews are already underway and ratifications should start in the coming weeks, as more people show interest in getting on the ballot under the COI banner.

“There were people who had told us from the beginning that if those seats are created that they wanted to run. And so once that happened, we started getting people calling, showing interest in going in those seats.“

And on the question of former NBA star Rick Fox, who’s been openly discussing the possibility of entering politics, Bain says the COI has attempted to reach out.

“We wanted to have a conversation with him to just see where his thinking was, where his head was. But he has not returned any of our messages, et cetera. So we don’t know what he is thinking. We don’t have conversations with anybody, but we wanted to see what his commitment would actually be to The Bahamas. “