Dear Editor,

In the latter part of 1971 a by-election was called in central Andros to fill the vacancy left by the demise of the late Clarence Bain, who had represented that constituency in Parliament. The NDP led by the late Paul L. Adderley, who along with Orville Turnquest and others were expelled from the PLP in 1965, the Labour Party led by the late Sir Randol Fawkes, father of the Labour Party movement in this country and who along with the late Alvin Braynen were responsible for the advent of majority rule in this nation, opted not to contest the seat.

The Free PLP or Dissident Eight as they then termed themselves, who were some time earlier expelled from the PLP after losing a power struggle with Lynden Pindling, the UBP, the official opposition of the House of Assembly and the PLP, the governing party, were the only contestants in the race.

The PLP fielded Darrell Rolle, the Free PLP Roston Miller and the UBP, under my chairmanship, fielded Norman Arahna. The PLP ran a campaign of hostility, victimization, intimidation and racial battery never before seen or heard of in this country and won the seat by a landslide. The Free PLP, led by the late Cecil Wallace-Whitfield, lost its deposit. The UBP got 200 votes.

After the votes were counted, Cecil and I went back to the Lighthouse Club where we were both staying and retired to the bar to do a post-mortem and enjoy some liquid refreshments. I asked Cecil if he had any intentions of contesting the upcoming general election some months hence in 1972. He said yes. I pointed out to him that if this by-election did anything for me at all it was, in my opinion, a forecast of what we could expect if the opposition into the conflict splintered, as we were. He said to me, "Bumpy, then tell me what you think the answer to that is?"

Simple, I said, let all opposition parties merge into one. He said to me, "Bumpy, do you think that Paul and his crew would join up with you all (UBP)?" I said to him, "What about you and your group?" He said, "I doubt a number of them will." I said, "Look man, he needs to stop looking at who is white or who is black, forget about our egos and start thinking about this country and its people. Black or white, if this country goes to hell we will all go together." He said, "Bumpy what you say makes sense to me. Suppose when we get back to Nassau you take it up with your people. I will discuss it with mine and get back to you."

We both did and on October 20, 1971 this nation saw the first political merger in the short political history between the UBP and the Free PLP, giving to the FNM. There was speculation that if Pindling had decided to use his by-election tactics against his former colleagues in the general election that they (Free PLP) would lose their seats. They all did.

As Cecil was chosen the leader we would have had a problem if he had lost his seat, so a decision was taken to invite Kendal Isaacs or Orville Turnquest to join the new party (FNM). Kendal was the unanimous choice and he was given the safe seat of Montagu. As history will show, Cecil and his lot were all wiped out in the general election and Kendal Isaacs ended up as House leader while Cecil remained as overall party leader, making political history again, one with party with two leaders.

It was not long after that, Isaacs a brilliant lawyer, was recognized as a weak political leader. He see-sawed in and out as such until Cecil again regained the overall leadership after losing it to Isaacs; only to lose to a coup by some of his own that saw the birth of the BDP under Henry Bostwick, who suffered one defection and later a full-scale coup that saw the birth of the SDP under the leadership of the late Norman Solomon, who suffered a serious defection and lost as official opposition in Parliament when the late James (Jimmy) Knowles defected back to the FNM.

Solomon, just like Bostwick before him, had no other choice than to return, like Perry Christie, to his vomit, to the FNM; but that, unlike Christie, was too hard a pill to swallow and along with all of his clan he returned to the FNM and forced a change to its name from FNM to FNDM, but still with Cecil as leader.

The first FNM's problems were about leadership and political ambitions. Today's problem is sheer ego and pure political ignorance. Every jackrabbit and his brother is looking for self-aggrandizement and notoriety. None of them, Perry Christie or Dr. Hubert Minnis, is about the electorate.

Christie is hell-bent on giving away our Crown land. I see where Minnis says that he reads the Bible every day. He would be far better off reading May's "Parliamentary Practice" and taking leadership lessons from Hubert Ingraham.

- Errington W.I. Watkins

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