Official Opposition Leader Loretta Butler-Turner said she and the six other Free National Movement (FNM) members who ousted FNM Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis as opposition leader have been in talks with other opposition forces besides the Democratic National Alliance (DNA) concerning a political power move before the next general election.
Following Butler-Turner's appointment of DNA Leader Branville McCartney as leader of opposition business in the Senate, Butler-Turner announced that she was in talks with the DNA concerning a bid to oust the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP).
The DNA denied it was in any in-depth talks with Butler-Turner.
However, Butler-Turner said this week she is in talks with other parties who agree with the message she has.
"I can say that Pastor Jeremiah Duncombe and his Gatekeepers group have made it very clear to me that the plan that I have articulated to him outside of the status quo is certainly what he ascribes to moving forward so I think we are going to have the endorsement of Pastor Jeremiah and other individuals who would fall within the purview in The Gatekeepers," Butler-Turner told The Nassau Guardian on Thursday.
"Certainly, unions and labor are very, very important so we rule out nobody.
"The reason why there was a lot of emphasis and there continues to be a lot of emphasis on the DNA is simply this, they are a political organization and they have been in existence since the last election and we do believe it was important to make overtures with them first and foremost because of the outcome of the last general election and I think any right-thinking Bahamian wants to know we can mitigate against those split votes to cause the Progressive Liberal Party to be returned to government.
"While there are a lot of moving parts and a lot of dynamic movement to what we are trying to accomplish, I assure you many of us are burning many long hours trying to reach an agreement that we can all live with, comprehend and effectively carry out to become the government of the country."
Last year, Butler-Turner said she has something phenomenal planned that is "different from the status quo" and will change politics in the country.
Although she said she is still not ready to share what she has planned, she insists there has been progress in her plan for change.
"We seem to be getting closer and closer to the election cycle," said Butler-Turner.
"We have made movement.
"We are reaching more common ground and I believe at the end of the day, what we will present to the Bahamian people will certainly be, and I've said this before but I remain steadfast to what I said, and that is to present a different forum of politics in The Bahamas and focus.
"I'm sure you know that there are discussions with other opposition forces and I'm very pleased with the direction of those discussions.
"We will reach the mid-point of January this weekend and I was hoping that we could have announced earlier but all I can is that we are very close and when we do announce, we want to be very clear so that there is no ambiguity in the way the people see what we are presenting and so we are looking at all the i's and t's and all of the components that is going to make this new political vehicle viable, appealing and serving the interests of the Bahamian people first as opposed to the interests of individuals .
"So stay tuned, I know I've said that before. But have just a little bit more patience.
"We're getting there soon."

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian