From left, Arnold Forbes, Leslie Miller and Dion Smith at last night’s ratification meeting, to announce their candidacy in the next election. (Photos: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff)

THE Progressive Liberal Party last evening moved one step closer to its “war ready” mantra, as the party announced the ratification of three incumbent candidates on Thursday evening.

In front of a packed hall of supporters, Prime Minister Perry Christie formally announced that Tall Pines MP Leslie Miller, Nassau Village MP and House Deputy Speaker Dion “Dynamite” Smith and Mount Moriah MP Arnold Forbes will all seek re-election for the PLP in the 2017 general election.

According to the Prime Minister, the PLP, the party he described as that “of the people”; has to work “tirelessly in the coming months to prove to the voters that its work is not yet done”.

To resounding applause, Mr. Christie asserted that he and his colleagues had already bought into a belief coined on the party’s 2012 campaign trial; “no retreat, no surrender.”

The Right Honourable Member for Centreville described each of the three as key cogs to the party election machinery; a system he went on to suggest was vital to introducing democracy to the country and one that must remain instrumental in maintaining it.

Arnold Forbes, the first of the three candidates to be ushered in to the hall, declared that under his tenure Mount Moriah had grown to be one of the premier constituencies in The Bahamas.

Touting the establishment of the Mount Moriah institute, Mr. Forbes stated that his efforts in the community ensured that hundreds of residents were able to improve their job skills and subsequently secure employment opportunities.

He claimed that many of his detractors would argue that his tenure as MP has resulted with a dismal record. However, firing back at those assertions, Mr. Forbes challenged those doubters to walk the streets of his constituency and listen to the stories of those residents.

Mr. Forbes, in addition to his representation of Mount Moriah, serves as Minister of State for Works and Urban Development.

Prior to that post, Mr. Forbes served as Executive Chairman of the Bahamas Agriculture and Industrial Corporation (BAIC), a corporation he said, through “pure will and strength took from the ashes to one of the best government managed facilities” throughout The Bahamas.

The current executive chairman of BAIC, Dion Smith was the second candidate ratified last evening.

Mr. Smith, one of those candidates touted as a new generational leader in the build-up to the 2012 general election, last night insisted that he was “more than prepared” to contest the Nassau Village constituency once more.

He explained that duty entrusted to him by the voters in the area is not completed, vowing that once the election bell is rung he will deliver the Nassau Village area back to victory column for the Progressive Liberal Party.

He said: “Mr. Prime Minister, as you can see, me and my people are ready to work. And we are ready now. Our marching orders are still no retreat, no surrender. We have come too far to turn back now, too far to get weary, too far to fade, too far to worry about the naysayers – and we know we have a whole lot of them. But we know, oh too well, that the race is not for the (weak), but for those who can endure to the end.”

The final candidate announced last evening, Leslie Miller, spoke very few words.

Indicative of the “Potcake” moniker praised by the Prime Minister in his introduction, Mr. Miller vowed that he was “ready for the fight”.

Reframing the historic views of boxing great Mohamed Ali prior to his ‘Thriller in Manila’ match, Mr. Miller took a swipe at all of his challengers In the Tall Pines constituency.

He paraphrased: “When you see me in a fight with the bear, don’t pray for me, pray for the bear.”

Mr. Miller went on to reiterate his love and long-standing commitment to the PLP, stating that he was there from 1962 and had no plans to leave.

To date, the party has ratified seven candidates.

The PLP also announced last night that Senator Keith Bell was officially granted the opportunity to campaign in the Carmichael constituency, an area left vacant within the party following the announcement by current MP Dr. Daniel Johnson that he would not seek the constituency’s nomination.

In addition to Senator Bell, Prime Minister Christie also pointed out the former FNM Grand Bahama candidate, Norris Bain, and former DNA Mount Moriah candidate, Attorney Wayne Munroe, had given the party notice of their intention to seek nominations.

However, it wasn’t made clear last evening which constituencies each would seek.

The party is now set to move on to Grand Bahama with a view to ratify several candidates on the island within the month.

By Ricardo Wells, Tribune Staff Reporter

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