Dear Editor,

Democratic National Alliance (DNA) Leader Branville McCartney recently informed the press that his party would present to the public a shadow Cabinet that would be the voice on behalf of the Bahamian people. No doubt, this shadow Cabinet will also be formed in order to keep the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) government's feet to the fire.
McCartney's recent announcement concerning a shadow Cabinet is unusual in our Westminster system of parliamentary government. At least it is for a political organization that isn't even the official opposition. Usually, the party that is Her Majesty's official opposition would have a shadow Cabinet. The DNA does not have one sitting member in Parliament.
According to one of the national dailies, after stating that he has no intention of rejoining the Free National Movement (FNM), McCartney said that the membership of his party before the general election was 10,500. Since then, according to McCartney, it has grown by 1,200 financial members. Despite only securing 13,366, or 8.56 percent of the votes that were cast on Election Day, the DNA leader and his supporters seem determined to act as the official opposition party.
I think that McCartney needs to be realistic. This country's political system has developed into a two-party system. The only time that a third party had a significant impact in an election was the short-lived Bahamas Democratic Party (BDP) in 1977. The BDP secured 17,252, or 26.9 percent of the votes to the then official opposition party FNM's 9,995, or 15.6 percent of the votes that were cast that year. The BDP won six seats. The FNM managed to win just two. The incumbent governing PLP received 35,090, or 54.7 percent of the votes that were cast. The governing party won 30 seats. Just like the DNA, the BDP was an offshoot of the FNM. The one thing that I have discovered about the FNM is that it has a penchant for breaking up. Historically, the party has struggled to remain cohesive. That is why the FNM lost in 2002 and again in 2012. With the departure of McCartney and thousands of FNM supporters, the governing party was doomed to lose the election. When McCartney announced in early 2010 that he was resigning from the Cabinet of the Ingraham administration, I began to see the handwriting on the wall for the FNM.
Despite McCartney and other political analysts' claims that the DNA did not cause the FNM to lose the general election, there is strong evidence to suggest otherwise. Of the 156,088 Bahamians who cast their ballots on May 7, the PLP got 75,815, or 48.57 percent of the votes to the FNM's 65,634, or 42.05 percent.
The PLP outpolled the FNM by 10,181 votes. I firmly believe that the overwhelming majority of the 13,366 persons who supported the DNA on Election Day were disgruntled FNM supporters who were tired of former Prime Minister Hubert A. Ingraham. I believe that McCartney had pulled away at least 10,000 votes from the FNM. When one examines the election results, you would discover that the DNA played spoiler in 15 of the 38 contests. The DNA caused the FNM to lose Bamboo Town, Carmichael, Elizabeth, Fort Charlotte, Garden Hills, Golden Isles, Marathon, Marco City, Nassau Village, North Andros and the Berry Islands, Pinewood, Sea Breeze, South Beach and Southern Shores.
I am absolutely certain that had the DNA never been formed, Zhivargo Laing, Darron Cash, Norris Bain, Heather Hunt, Brensil Rolle, Carl Bethel, Tommy Turnquest, Kenyatta Gibson, Desmond Bannister, Byran Woodside and Monique Gomez would all presently be sitting members of Parliament.
In the North Andros and the Berry Islands contest, Bannister lost by just 24 votes to the PLP's Dr. Perry Gomez. The DNA's Randy Butler got 85 votes. He had definitely spoiled Bannister's chances at winning that seat. In Mount Moriah, the FNM incumbent Turnquest was defeated by just 249 votes. The DNA's Wayne Munroe polled 471 votes. Again, the DNA had caused an FNM to lose his race.
In Sea Breeze, the FNM's Bethel lost that race to the PLP's Hope Strachan by just 198 votes. The DNA's Alfred Poitier got 543 votes. Had it not been for him, Bethel would have easily retained his seat. In Marco City, the FNM's Norris Bain lost to the PLP's Gregory Moss by just 241 votes. The DNA's Tonolus Sands got 304 votes. Once again a DNA candidate probably played spoiler to the FNM. In the race for Marathon, Hunt lost to the PLP's Jerome Fitzgerald by 257 votes. The DNA's Karen Davis mustered up 337 votes. Undoubtedly, she influenced the outcome of that race. In Golden Isles, the FNM incumbent Charles Maynard lost to the PLP's Michael Halkitis by 407 votes. The DNA's Farrel Goff got 581 of the votes cast. In Garden Hills, the FNM incumbent Brensil Rolle lost to the PLP's Dr. Kendal Major by 268 votes. The DNA candidate Kelphene Cunningham got 382 votes. The DNA, I believe, caused Rolle to lose his seat. In Fort Charlotte, the FNM's candidate Laing lost to the PLP's Dr. Andre Rollins by just 151 votes. The DNA's Mark Humes got 519 votes. He had clearly affected the outcome of that race.
Granted, there will be those who would argue that I have no scientific data that says that the overwhelming majority of the persons who voted DNA are disgruntled FNMs. That's a valid point. But let us remember that during the campaign the then Opposition Leader Perry G. Christie admonished his supporters at the PLP's Gold Rush rallies not to vote for the DNA, because that would be a vote for the FNM.
Christie understood then that the DNA is really a progeny of the FNM. That is why he warned his followers not to flirt with the DNA. Back then no sane person believed that the DNA would gain over 13,000 votes. But they did just that. Looking back in hindsight, PLP supporters are now denying that the DNA is really an offshoot of the FNM. They realize that the DNA played spoiler, but are unwilling to admit this fact.
While it is true that the DNA failed to win a seat, the party did affected the outcome of 15 seats, as I mentioned above. The numbers don't lie. It continues to baffle me when I hear persons downplay the DNA's negative impact that it had on the FNM.
The FNM won just nine seats. The PLP won 29. Now, had McCartney stayed with the FNM, it is quite possible that the FNM would have picked up an additional 13 to 14 seats on May 7. This means that the FNM would have won at least 22 or 23 of the 38 seats, making it the government of The Bahamas.
If McCartney keeps his political organization together for the next five years, then the official opposition will again lose in 2017. McCartney's DNA will never win the government; nor will it become the official opposition, as some of its most ardent supporters are now counting on it to become. Seems like many DNA supporters are only content with keeping the FNM out of high office. "As long as the FNM is not the government", appears to be their only consolation after failing to win just one seat on May 7.
Despite McCartney's repeated denials, the DNA aided the PLP in capturing the government. In fact, its continued presence in the Bahamian political landscape will continue to help the PLP win general elections. His announcement about his party being around for another five years must have caused great jubilation within the PLP. If McCartney and his 12,000 supporters are so determined to continue hurting the FNM, then they might as well join up with the governing PLP party. As far as I am concerned, the DNA's only meaningful role in Bahamian politics is playing spoiler to the FNM. That's all. McCartney and his people must come to grips with this stubborn fact and stop minding the noise in the market.

- Kevin Evans

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