Prime Minister Perry Christie yesterday insisted that his government has done an "outstanding job" this term and deserves to be re-elected.

"We are observers as a government of what is happening in the country," said Christie at the Office of the Prime Minister. "We read and we listen. We attend to our duties as members of Parliament as best we can.

"We believe that regardless [of] what has been said and what is believed by some, that we have done an outstanding job for and on behalf of the Bahamian people.

"And we believe in the fullness of time, it is our responsibility to allow the Bahamian people to see why we are able to say that we think we have done a great job for them."

The prime minister was speaking at a press conference where he announced that Bahamian airlines taking off and landing in The Bahamas will soon be exempt from paying overflight fees to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and The Bahamas could soon be collecting millions of dollars in overflight fees for the public coffers when it takes over its own airspace. Christie was responding to a question on whether the phased opening of Baha Mar and the new airspace agreement made him more confident ahead of the general election.

"I don't think 'confidence' for me is the word I would use at this stage," he said. "I happen to have a conviction that, if justice is done, that the people of The Bahamas will see that we have earned the right for their respect in how we have gone about governing and that we have earned their confidence in their being able to determine that we ought to be given an opportunity to form a new government after the next general election.

"What I want to conclude with is that we have protected the democracy during our term, and that we have a wonderful democracy in our country. "... Every day that we have the privilege to govern, we ourselves feel privileged that the Bahamian people have given us the opportunity at this stage in our history, 50th anniversary of majority rule..."

During the observation of the 50th anniversary of majority rule, hundreds of Bahamians participated in the second We March Bahamas event in downtown Nassau highlighting various issues they say are keeping The Bahamas from progressing, including low educational attainment, widespread crime and an economy that is not growing.

Many of the participants insisted that the country needs saving. Christie said yesterday that the date of the election will be decided after the Constituencies Commission reports.

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