Mr. Bannister has written to Senate President Sharon Wilson resigning from the Senate with effect from April 30, 2005, a statement from the FNM said.
He has reportedly indicated that a number of personal and business issues have arisen which require that he gives them his full attention.
Mr. Bannister was first appointed to the Senate on 21 May, 2002 following the May 2002 general elections.
He told The Bahama Journal on Tuesday that preparing for Senate debates is time-consuming.
“The Senate is not just meeting once whenever,” he said. “If you took it seriously, as I did, it meant whatever issues came up, you dissect it, both from a legal and from a political standpoint. I was never one to take a debate anything other than very seriously. A two-hour presentation in the Senate may well have taken me two or three days to prepare.”
In commenting on Mr. Bannister’s resignation, FNM Leader Senator Tommy Turnquest said that, “Desmond has been a very active participant in the Senate and it is unfortunate that his circumstances require him to resign at this time. He was a keen debater and was always thoroughly prepared, and was an asset to our party in the Senate.
“Desmond has a deep sense of compassion and concern for the less fortunate in our society, and he was a great advocate on their behalf. I wish Desmond well, and thank him gratefully for his service and for his support to me and to the party, and it is my sincere hope that he will be able to return to the frontline at some point in the future.”
It is expected that the party will name a replacement shortly after Mr. Bannister’s resignation takes effect. Alvin Smith, leader of the Official Opposition, would be the one tomake the recommendation of Mr. Bannister’s replacement to the governor general.
Mr. Bannister said that the small group of FNM Senators has been able to do a fine job in the Senate.
“We’ve been very effective,” he said. “Just look at the record. The government has brought legislation to the Senate, which we as a small opposition group on several occasions have required them to take back to the House of Assembly and amend. We’ve seen defective legislation come through the Senate from the House of Assembly. We’ve seen legislation on any number of occasions that did not meet the type of standards that we expect from a parliament.”
For weeks now, many people had expected a resignation from the Senate, but it had been the resignation of Cyprianna McWeeney, the PLP Senator, that had been anticipated.
Her resignation was expected more than a year after Edison Key, another government Senator, resigned from the Upper Chamber, triggering nasty fallout.
As the FNM begins the process of choosing a replacement to Mr. Bannister, there are also reports that he plans to resign from The Bahamas Association of Athletics Associations.
While not denying this report, Mr. Bannister said he did not wish to comment on his future with the sporting organization.
Source: The Bahama Journal
