NASSAU, Bahamas, April 8, 2024 — Former Leader of the Democratic National Alliance (DNA) Branville McCartney said yesterday he wants to see former Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis return to lead the country, The Nassau Guardian reported today in an article written by Executive Editor Candia Dames
“I would certainly like to see Dr. Minnis have an opportunity to carry out his agenda that was, unfortunately, disrupted because of COVID and those two hurricanes we had. … I would like to see Dr. Minnis, if he decides to take that route, to have an opportunity to govern the country again,” said McCartney, who was contacted by The Nassau Guardian after he joined Minnis and a team in Long Island on Saturday for the launch of Minnis’ book, “The Power of Determination”.
McCartney is a former Free National Movement (FNM) Cabinet minister. He resigned from the Cabinet of Hubert Ingraham in February 2010.
In March 2011, he resigned from the FNM, citing “personal convictions”. His resignation came minutes after his party voted in favor of the 51 percent sale of the Bahamas Telecommunications Company to Cable and Wireless.
Later that year, he founded the Democratic National Alliance.
The DNA got more than 13,000 votes in the 2012 election.
In December 2016, after the FNM parliamentary caucus ousted Minnis as opposition leader, the new opposition leader, Loretta Butler-Turner, at time MP for Long Island, appointed McCartney leader of opposition business in the Senate.
In March 2017, he resigned from the Senate, saying Butler-Turner had sown seeds of confusion since assuming her post.
In 2017, the DNA performed much worse in the general election than it did in 2012, receiving 7,537 votes.
Several months later, McCartney stepped down as DNA leader and disappeared from frontline politics.
McCartney’s appearance in photographs this weekend in Long Island with Minnis sparked some conversations, particularly given widespread speculation that Minnis is eyeing another run for leader of the Free National Movement, currently led by Michael Pintard, the MP for Marco City, who became leader after Minnis stepped aside not long after a crushing general election defeat in 2021.
McCartney told The Nassau Guardian he was invited to join the group traveling with the former prime minister, and decided to do so.
See complete article in The Nassau Guardian at https://www.thenassauguardian.com/news/mccartney-wants-to-see-minnis-return-as-pm/article_989f9876-f523-11ee-b302-4b83ba48013e.html
