NASSAU, Bahamas, November 6, 2023 — Two weeks after he lost out on a contentious bid to secure the Progressive Liberal Party’s (PLP) nomination for West Grand Bahama and Bimini in the approaching by-election, former Cabinet minister Shane Gibson was on stage at a rally in Eight Mile Rock, praising Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis for having a “heart for the people”, and pledging his support to work to get PLP candidate Kingsley Smith elected to fill the seat left vacant by the September 25 death of Obie Wilchcombe, The Nassau Guardian reported today in an article written by Travis Cartwright-Carroll.
It was a far cry from the angry shouts of Gibson supporters, who surrounded him and chanted, “Brave got to go” outside PLP headquarters in New Providence on October 20, the night the party’s National General Council ratified Smith.
Gibson introduced Davis on Friday night.
“I’ve had the opportunity to work with him,” the former minister said. “I’ve had the opportunity to feel his heart. I’ve had the opportunity to speak with him in private and his conduct in private is the same as his conduct in public. He has a heart for the people of The Bahamas.”
Davis, who danced to the stage, said, “I want you all to tell them take that. Tell them fellas take that. We are a democratic party. We have our views and we encourage each and every one of us to express their views. I am one who always encourage people to pursue their ambitions and that is what we are all about. When the dust settles, we are one. We are PLPs and at the end of the day, it’s always one love.”
It was a reference to what had been Wilchcombe’s personal mantra, and what is now the PLP’s by-election slogan.
Davis said Smith, if elected, would be part of the government, “not no opposition”.
He said Smith would have the support of the Cabinet to execute numerous plans.
“… My brother Shane, who’s joined us on the campaign trail tonight, my brother Shane is also there to offer advice,” Davis said. “When he was minister of housing, Shane led the building of a record number of affordable homes for Bahamians. He can certainly help Kingsley do the same and Shane being here tonight should leave no doubt in any mind: we is PLP, and we stand together, and all of we is one family, all of we is one.”
The contest for the PLP’s nomination was divisive.
Several days after Wilchcombe’s sudden death, PLP Chairman Fred Mitchell announced that a candidate for the by-election will be chosen from the pool of aspirants who were considered for the West Grand Bahama and Bimini nomination ahead of the 2021 general election, adding that no former House of Assembly members were in that group.
See complete article in The Nassau Guardian at https://www.thenassauguardian.com/news/when-the-dust-settles-we-are-one/article_89fdc2a0-7c8a-11ee-85ef-a3bfeb33c2df.html
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