Former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham suggested that one of the reasons the Free National Movement (FNM) lost the general election on Monday is that the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) bribed voters.
Ingraham spoke exclusively to The Nassau Guardian shortly after Dr. Hubert Minnis was sworn in as leader of the Official Opposition at Government House.
Reflecting on the party’s loss, Ingraham said: “I think that one of the things that the population can glean themselves is that there is no great joy on the part of those that won. There’s a reason for that. They know why they won and they know how they won.”
Asked to expound on those comments, Ingraham added: “You live in the society. You live here with everyone else. You would have seen the yellow shirt outside, under the tents (on election day).
“You would have seen voters go under the tents and collecting nicely folded shirts on election day and you’d see how unusual that is.
“Parties give out T- shirts before election. They don’t fold it for you.
“…But the reality is we lost. We lost and we accept our defeat. We will do what we have to do to win again.”
The FNM won only nine of the 38 seats in the House of Assembly. On the night of May 7, Ingraham, who is one of the elected members, announced he will not take his seat in Parliament. He also announced that he will resign as leader of the party.
The former prime minister added that while he intends to follow through on his promise to step down from frontline politics, he will continue to support the party.
The FNM is expected to elect a new leader at the party’s convention on May 26. As for whether Ingraham will remain with the party in another capacity, he said he will continue to play a part.
“I will do whatever the leader asks me to do, whatever support I can give him and the team,” Ingraham said.
“While I will not be up front, I will be very supportive. I think I have some ideas that they could use and benefit from.”
Minnis said at the swearing in ceremony he will continue to work hard for the country.
“I expect to confirm to the public why next time they ought to vote for the Free National Movement,” he said.
Asked about the party’s decision to elect Minnis, Ingraham said the former minister of health is an excellent choice.
“I think he will do very well,” the former prime minister said.
“He has my full support, the full support of the elected members, the full support of the council and we will give him all the support we can to ensure that he does a very effective job to assist in returning the party next time.”
Krystel Rolle
The Nassau Guardian
