All things change with time and political parties are naturally no exception.

As the needs and perspectives of citizens in democratic countries worldwide evolve and expand, disenchantment with the political status quo is growing.

The nation’s two major political parties, the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) and the Free National Movements (FNM), were both founded on noble ideals and in their battles for the hearts and soul of the country, they have had seminal accomplishments.

But in more recent times to the present day, it has become increasingly difficult for growing numbers of Bahamians to pin down with comfortable tangibility the functioning political philosophy and ideologies of both major parties.

For the PLP, its core ideologies of uplifting the downtrodden and empowering the disenfranchised are mirrored against decades of neglect and stubborn conditions of poverty in urban and out-island traditional strongholds.

For the FNM, its core ideologies of accountability, transparency and fair-dealing in government are today mirrored against a culture of secrecy, untrustworthiness and questionable policymaking.

While both parties proudly boast of their legacies and past achievements, it is the extent to which these organizations are still true to those legacies that matter for the lives of Bahamians today.

In many respects the nation is at a crossroads; quietly in search of what it means to be a Bahamian and what the Bahamian way of life should both represent and provide.

As change must necessarily start within the mind and heart of each citizen if the nation is to realize progress with long-lasting potential, so must an effectual soul-searching by its major political parties occur if these organizations with currently the greatest likelihood of forming the next government are truly desirous of facilitating national advancement.

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