The Candidates Committee of the Free National Movement (FNM) has been slowed in its work due to Hurricane Matthew, but National Review understands it intends to move forward this week to ratify more candidates.

While former FNM Senator Lanisha Rolle is not expected to be ratified this week, senior National Review sources confirmed on the weekend that she is still being considered for a constituency and may possibly be placed in Seabreeze.

The hugely controversial Rolle, who brought great embarrassment to the party over the course of months, applied more than a year ago to contest Centreville.

Former Bahamas Ambassador to the United States Joshua Sears -- who ran in Exuma in 2007 and lost to the PLP's Anthony Moss by 65 votes -- is set to be ratified for South Beach.

That opening was created when Howard Johnson decided he no longer wanted to run due to personal reasons.

The search and selection committee has also interviewed attorney and noted talk show host Jeffrey Lloyd, but has not yet settled on what constituency to put him in.

Reportedly, Lloyd expressed an interest in the Montagu area.

Atlantis executive Ed Fields has also been interviewed, according to trusted National Review sources, who said Fields also has not applied for any particular constituency.

Attorney Elliott Lockhart recently applied for Exuma and has not yet been interviewed. This would leave Phenton Neymour, the former minister who has been eyeing that constituency, out in the cold.

Neymour, the former South Beach MP, has been highly critical of the leadership of Dr. Hubert Minnis. He ran in Exuma in the last election.

Reece Chipman, the accountant who previously ran in St. Thomas More, applied for Centreville, but is also being considered at this time for Bains and Grants Town.

Leonard Sands, who heads the Bahamian Contractors Association, was previously announced as the candidate for Bains and Grants Town but pulled out, also  citing personal reasons.

Businessman Dionisio D'Aguilar has been interviewed and is expected to get the nod for Montagu or St. Anne's.

D'Aguilar is a former director of Baha Mar and continues to lash the Christie administration over its handling of the Baha Mar debacle.

Montagu is currently represented by Richard Lightbourn and St. Anne's is represented by Hubert Chipman.

Both Lightbourn and Chipman strongly opposed Minnis' leadership and were among the six MPs who had threatened to write the governor general to have him removed as leader of the Official Opposition.

In the weeks following the FNM's chaotic convention in July, they faced an increasingly hostile environment within the party.

Party sources told National Review that Lightbourn was informed he would not get the nomination.

Chipman announced recently he was no longer seeking the St. Anne's nomination and expressed disappointment in the state of the party -- as did Central Grand Bahama MP Neko Grant when he announced several weeks ago that he no longer wanted to run.

Former FNM Chairman Michael Pintard has applied to run in Marco City.

Pintard resigned as a senator and as chairman in March amidst the controversy surrounding Save The Bays members who alleged a murder plot was hatched against them.

Pintard uncovered the alleged plot but did not report it to the police.

He is seeking to reenter the political spotlight.

Pintard was interviewed by the search and selection committee over the summer.

Like Lanisha Rolle, he would be a hugely controversial pick. Like Rolle, he too brought tremendous embarrassment to the FNM and deepened the turmoil it found itself in several months ago.

If Rolle and Pintard are selected, they would bring unnecessary negative publicity to the FNM, which is still picking up the pieces after a very bad couple of years with infighting, embarrassing leaks and multiple missteps by its leader.

Community activist Ruben Rahming is expected to soon be ratified for Pinewood.

The party has been working to ratify all of its candidates by the end of October, but it does not appear likely that it will do so.

FNMs are hopeful that although their leader continues to have trouble conveying leadership qualities, a strong team of candidates will make the party more attractive.

So far, the party ratified 18 candidates for the existing 38 seats. The change of heart by Johnson and Sands brought the list back down to 16.

While the FNM still has to wait for the report of the Boundaries Commission before finalizing its list, it must be careful not to make the mistake it made in 2012 when it waited until January of that year to unveil its full slate of candidates.

The general election was in May.

In 2007, PLP candidates were formally announced a few weeks before the general election.

In 2010, we asked then Opposition Leader Perry Christie whether he regretted that late announcement.

Christie told The Nassau Guardian, "There's no question about that. Looking back, hindsight is a wonderful thing, but you have to learn from mistakes."

The PLP has in recent months announced some candidates for the next general election, many of them incumbents.

Under Minnis' leadership, the FNM remains a hugely unattractive option. The PLP is in a similar position.

Christie fatigue has long set in. Bahamians by very large numbers want him gone. They have had enough.

Minnis, meanwhile, lacks the kind of inspirational and visionary leadership that is desperately needed.

The apathy toward both major parties was clearly demonstrated in the results of a recent Public Domain poll reported on by National Review.

It revealed what we have long known: There is a deep dissatisfaction with the current administration and the direction the country is headed in, but people are also unhappy with their options for change.

Only 14 percent of respondents said they would vote for the PLP if an election were held tomorrow.

Only 18 percent said they would vote for the FNM and 15 percent said they would vote for the Democratic National Alliance.

Candia Dames, Guardian Managing Editor

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