Loretta Butler-Turner speaks on Friday.

6.15pm: After withdrawing from the leadership race, Loretta Butler-Tuner says she has no plans to leave the FNM. She said she dropped out because of irregularities in the process and deep structural issues. The final straw, she said, was Peter Turnquest's rebuke of her.

5.30pm: This statement was released by the office of Richard Lightbourn this afternoon, with regards to his comments last night that drew fierce criticism.

“I would like to sincerely apologize to the Bahamian public and women in particular for my comments made last night at the Free National Movement convention.

“It was never my intention to offend anyone but to speak to the need for effective parenting and the support for a strong family structure which will go a long way toward solving many of our country’s social ills.

“It is a woman’s right to decide what to do with her body.“I received immediate and justified criticism for my comments. It was an extremely poor decision on my part.

“My comments in no way shape or form reflect the position of the FNM.”

1.35pm: Speaking this afternoon, Dr. Duane Sands said: “The report is true, we will speak on what happened later, we communicated that we dropped out of the race last night.”

Both Dr. Sands and Loretta Butler-Turner have left the convention.

1.30pm: Loretta Butler-Turner and Duane Sands have confirmed they have dropped out of the leadership race, but they have refused to comment on the meeting they had with Dr. Minnis.

1pm: Voting for positions at the FNM Convention has been extended to 2pm.

12.15pm: Loretta Butler-Turner is in talks with Dr. Hubert Minnis, a well placed FNM source has told The Tribune. They are "coming up with the best solution for the Bahamian people".

11.10am: As rumours swirl around the convention, Dr. Duane Sands is meeting now with Dr. Hubert Minnis.

10.30am: Loretta Butler-Turner arrived at the Convention on Friday amid unconfirmed reports that she and Dr. Duane Sands had pulled out of the leadership contest following last night’s chaotic scenes.

As she emerged from her car she was overheard telling her supporters that she “will not let the other camp win” and that “criminals will not hijack the election”.

Mrs. Butler-Turner, who is contesting the leadership position with Dr. Hubert Minnis with voting this morning and the result to be announced tonight, also said “the Bahamas is bigger than all these people. Y’all saw what they did. Minnis and Turnquest designed this to destroy me giving a speech last night."

Peter Turnquest faces Dr. Sands in the contest for the deputy leadership.

Mrs. Butler-turner is expected to hold a press conference later this morning.

FNM Chairman Sidney Collie said he was not authorised to make any statements and refused to take questions at the morning press conference.

10am: Three female government ministers have reacted with fury after Richard Lightbourn proposed at the Free National Movement Convention on Thursday night that unwed mothers with more than two children should have their "tubes tied" in an effort to curtail the country’s social ills, describing it as a “shocking and despicable” violation of women's reproductive rights.

10am: Welcome to our live coverage of Day Three of the FNM Convention.

Delegates are voting in the much anticipated leadership poll between party leader Dr. Hubert Minnis and Long Island MP Loretta Butler-Turner. The polls close at 1pm.

FREE National Movement Senator Dr. Duane Sands said yesterday that he stands by his decision to announce his plans to contest the deputy leader post at the party’s national convention next month despite criticism that the move was premature.

On June 19, Dr. Sands announced that he intended to run as a team with Long Island MP Loretta Butler-Turner vying for leader. However, Mrs Butler-Turner has not made a formal announcement. The two were unsuccessful at the party’s last convention in 2014, where they ran separate campaigns for the same posts.

He said the upcoming convention was a test run for the next general election on political maturity and skill that will see the party politically rebuked by the electorate if it fails.

“It’s not premature, not at all,” he said. “Certainly even as a member of a team I would have made a decision for reasons that I’m aware of and, good and bad, I stand by that decision. I’ve seen the comments, I’ve seen and heard the criticism and politics in the Bahamas is a blood sport.

“There’s been a lot of talk, speculation, conspiracy theories, about what does this all mean. People are looking at where the tea leaves have settled trying to determine whether it points in the direction of the sun, moon and stars. I can assure you that Loretta Butler-Turner is very much in control of everything that there is to do about Loretta Butler-Turner and the narrative I’m sure will be her narrative.”

Dr. Sands added: “Notwithstanding comments, questions, concerns, etc, in most team sports the narrative is always to play your game, don’t be drawn into anybody else’s offence or defence. Run your own race.”

The FNM’s national convention is set for July 27-29, pushed up from its initial November date after a group of six parliamentarians threatened to remove Dr. Hubert Minnis as Official Opposition leader if he did not accept an earlier date. According to Mrs. Butler-Turner, Dr. Minnis has since said that he plans to “deal with” dissenting parliamentarians after he successfully defends his post. Although Dr. Sands was not a part of the faction that issued the ultimatum, he acknowledged yesterday that his political future was uncertain despite having already been ratified as the party’s standard-bearer for Elizabeth.

“I’m not convinced that the current leader and/or his deputy makes for the strongest team and for that reason I am offering instead. I recognise that there are others who don’t share that view, but again you have to make decisions based on what you believe.

“I am prepared to accept whatever consequences arise out of my decision,” he said. “I don’t think that there is any point in me catching feelings about whether I ought to have a nomination or not.”

Dr. Sands noted that Bahamian politics differed from the American system, where it was traditional for presidential hopefuls to “rough up each other” and then put aside differences to unite behind a single candidate.

He insisted that after four years, the FNM was still not a united party. He said that realisation paired with the party’s inability to generate sufficient sums of money, must be laid at the feet of Dr. Minnis.

When asked whether he could support Dr. Minnis if he is again re-elected as leader, Dr. Sands said: “I have done so sincerely and legitimately and honestly for the last four years, as have many of the MPs who have now raised concerns. I don’t think you could have found more supportive team members.

“I think this [convention] is a test of our political maturity, and the test of our ability to seek common ground. If we pass this test we will have no difficulty reaching out to disaffected PLPs and DNA supporters in the community because we would have learned to move from entrenched inflexible positions to find conciliatory compromise, common ground.

“I believe this is a test run for the general election. This is our dress rehearsal, not necessarily on the issues but on our political skills, on our ability to be statesmen and stateswomen.”

By Ava Turnquest, Tribune Chief Reporter

The Independence committee for the 43rd annual Independence celebrations held a press conference Monday, June 27, at the Cabinet Office to announce its plans for the celebrations. Bahamas National Independence Commission Artistic Director, Ian Poitier, Ian Poitier announced that National Pride Day is set for Friday, July 1, with festivities taking place in Rawson Square beginning at 10 a.m. He noted that persons should wear at least one of the flag colours or carry a flag at the event. Other activities include a beat retreat, an Ecumenical Service, the People’s Love and Unity Rush and a State Reception.

(BIS photo/Letisha Henderson)

Source: Bahamas Information Services

The crashed plane at South Bimini Airport on Sunday

AN official at the Department of Civil Aviation has defended the agency’s practices after it was revealed that the pilot who died in a crash in Bimini last week was not licensed, telling The Tribune it was the pilot’s responsibility to ensure he had the needed documentation.

Acting Director at the Department of Civil Aviation Keith Major also said officials at the Department of Civil Aviation are unsure whether the pilot was “test driving” his plane or about to operate a charter at the time of the accident.

Airplane mechanic, Anthony Smith, nicknamed “Scrubby”, was also on the plane and died in the crash.

The Tribune understands Gibson was incarcerated and released from prison six months ago, which may be the reason his license was not renewed.

This comes a day after Civil Aviation Department lead investigator Delvin Major told The Nassau Guardian that Gibson’s license was revoked in 2001 and that the deceased was en route to Abaco to charter a flight before he died.

“We don’t understand why he would not have gotten a new licence,” Keith Major said yesterday. “Anyone flying an aircraft needs one, it’s like a driver’s licence. If it expires and you say nothing about it, we would not know that it has expired.”

“You have a responsibly to ensure it is current, no one ever knows your driver’s licence is expired unless you get into an accident or get pulled over and similarly we will not know if your pilot’s licence expired until you come to us.

“We do not go on planes and check every license, that is not required anywhere in the world. We ensure that persons flying are qualified, you need to be responsible, you need to renew it. Now if we have knowledge of it we will check.”

The acting director also said the accident report is not complete and investigators at this point are not sure if the plane was being tested or if it was en route to pick up passengers.

“We have no information that he was picking up passengers, the investigation is ongoing and being actively conducted,” Keith Major said.

“I don’t know the status of the plane, I don’t know of any charter flight, once we have all the information about the accident it will be released.”

On Monday, an official revealed to The Tribune that the crash that killed the two men was caused when the pilot lost control of the aircraft while attempting to avoid hitting another plane that was taxiing on the runway.

Delvin Major told The Tribune that based on the department’s investigations, the Piper Aztec 27 did not crash because of engine failure, as was originally reported, but rather was caused “after the pilot turned too deep and as was unable to come out of a nose dive.”

Last Monday, Transport and Aviation Minister Glenys Hanna Martin said the small plane crash at the South Bimini Airport was likely to have been caused by engine failure.

However, Keith Major said yesterday the minister was not given the “additional information” on the crash and reported to the media what she was told by investigators.

When contacted yesterday for comment, Mrs. Hanna Martin said she will issue a statement along with recommendations after the accident report is completed, which should be in a week’s time.

A witness to the crash who wished to remain anonymous said he saw the plane take a nosedive and was not able to “pull out of it” after swerving to avoid hitting the plane on the runway.

“They took off and then came back around dropping low to the runway but another plane was on the runway and the pilot panicked,” the witness said on Monday.

“The plane took a 40 degree turn, which is too much for an Aztec and so the plane stalled and went into a nosedive. I saw the plane: it was a Cherokee 6 and I don’t think the guys on the plane had a headset and they were not able to communicate.”

At 4:15pm on June 19, aviation officials at South Bimini Airport received a report of smoke in bushes near the airport. Officials previously reported that the crashed plane had departed Bimini’s airport minutes before the tragedy.

By Sancheska Brown, Tribune Staff Reporter