One of the first things anyone with a pulse noticed the day after the Golden Isles by-election was that voter turnout was low. Naturally, the New Day Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) treated this like a personal insult to their “great” victory and promptly launched into an Olympic-level gymnastics routine to explain why only around half of registered voters bothered to show up.

And then came their proclamation:

“Here are the facts.”

Whenever the PLP starts a sentence like that, you really should tighten your seatbelt, grab the dashboard, and hope your insurance covers political whiplash. Because I’ve long realized there are facts, and then there are PLP facts—and the two have never been caught in the same room.

According to the PLP’s freshly baked narrative, the voter register—established in 2016—shouldn’t be trusted because apparently thousands of Golden Isles voters have scattered like witnesses leaving a crime scene over the past nine years. Never mind that the Parliamentary Commissioner exists precisely to maintain that register.

The PLP insists that, thanks to their five-week door-to-door safari, they discovered the real number of eligible voters is somewhere between 5,200 and 5,500. Voilà! With their newly invented denominator, suddenly turnout wasn’t a bleak 49 percent—it was a heroic 70 percent! And with that, the PLP proudly declared that their supporters “answered the call.”

Beautiful story. Almost touching. Except for one tiny detail:

It directly contradicts the Parliamentary Commissioner himself.

Harrison Thompson—the man legally responsible for the voter register—did not mince words. He was, in his own phrasing, “baffled” by the low turnout. Not reassured. Not impressed. Not spinning gold from straw. Baffled.

From The Nassau Guardian:

Of the 7,926 registered voters in Golden Isles, only 3,884 showed up.

Turnout: 49 percent.

Not 70.

Not 80.

Not whatever number the PLP cooked up in their backroom kitchen.

Thompson even emphasized:

The 7,926 people do live in Golden Isles.

The register is cleaned daily.

Over 16,000 names have been removed since 2017.

They expected more voters because all attention was on a single constituency.

So, unless we assume the Parliamentary Commissioner is incompetent (which the PLP would never say out loud—though their “facts” strongly imply it), then the PLP’s alternative reality looks suspiciously like political creative writing.

But the New Day PLP—true to form—expects Bahamians to ignore the Parliamentary Commissioner, ignore the numbers, ignore the laws governing elections, and simply trust them. Because nothing says “New Day” quite like telling the public, “Don’t believe the official responsible for elections; believe us—we canvassed for five weeks.”

I’m not saying the PLP doesn’t understand something. I’m just asking: are they seriously telling us that the man who manages the register, cleans it daily, and oversees the voting process… is wrong?

The Bahamas deserves better.

Déjà Vu at BPL: When “Risky and Ill-Conceived” Suddenly Becomes “Visionary”

Look who’s suddenly rediscovered the magic of “fuel hedging.”
Today it’s being reported that Bahamas Power and Light’s Chief Operating Officer (COO), Anthony Christie, proudly announced that BPL is “exploring fuel hedging options.” You know, those same options that apparently ensure “consistent fuel availability” and “mitigate price volatility.” In other words, the exact reasons the last administration had the program in place in the first place.

Forgive me if I don’t burst into applause — because haven’t we been down this road before?

This is the same Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) government that, under then-Minister Alfred Sears, let the previous fuel-hedging program expire while everyone in Cabinet pointed fingers at “whose desk the file was on.” Remember that? They didn’t exactly cancel it — they just forgot to renew it, which in government-speak means: we cancelled it, but quietly.

At the time, the official line was that the hedging program was “risky, ill-conceived, and not workable.” Strong words — until global oil prices went up, electricity bills skyrocketed, and Bahamians started asking why their light bills looked like mortgage payments. Suddenly, that “risky” FNM idea didn’t seem so bad after all.

And now, here comes Anthony Christie at a fancy BICA conference, re-introducing hedging like it’s some brand-new breakthrough. “Fuel management and financial strategies to deliver stable energy,” he says. “Mitigate price volatility,” he says.
Funny — that’s almost word for word what the Free National Movement (FNM) said when they launched the same strategy years ago. I would say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but in this case it’s more like a desperate case of political amnesia.

But let’s be fair — maybe Mr. Christie is just the messenger. The real decision-makers — the ones who love being in front of the cameras, full of soundbites and slogans about “a New Day” — are nowhere to be found. Because how do you face the public and admit that you killed a working program, watched bills explode, and then had to sheepishly bring it back like nothing ever happened?

The PLP government has effectively performed the political equivalent of deleting an assignment, failing the course, and then photocopying your classmate’s old homework just to pass the resit. And we, the Bahamian people, are the ones paying the tuition.

So yes, welcome back to fuel hedging — the policy that once was “too risky,” now apparently “essential.”
It’s about time.
But let’s not kid ourselves: this isn’t innovation. It’s a U-turn wrapped in a press release.

Still, if it finally brings some relief to Bahamians tired of choosing between air conditioning and groceries — I’ll take it. Just don’t call it a “New Day.”
Call it what it really is: The last administration’s idea, the New Day PLP administraion’s salvation, and tomorrow’s press conference.

The Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) fails for one reason; it is their nature and people of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas deserve better.

END

The PLP — masters of the political moonwalk. One step forward, two steps back, and a quick spin to pretend they never said what they just said… even when it’s on tape.

So now we have Deputy Leader of the New Day PLP, Chester Cooper, scrambling to explain away Darron Pickstock’s very clear, very honest, very oops-I-said-the-truth moment — where he admitted that Golden Isles has been neglected. Cooper says, “Oh, he’s new to politics, just trying to build his brand.”

Translation: He accidentally told the truth before getting the memo.

And honestly, if you’re looking to “establish your brand,” there’s no better way than trashing the record of your own party and then pretending you “misspoke.” It’s practically the PLP initiation ritual at this point — tell the truth, regret it, then hold a press conference to say you were “misunderstood.”

Let’s recap what Mr. Pickstock originally said — that people in Golden Isles “are not asking for the world,” just “someone who listens, shows up, and gets things done.” Seems fair, right? But apparently, that’s a revolutionary concept for the PLP.

Then came the clean-up crew. Suddenly, Pickstock wasn’t “blaming” anyone; he was just talking about “responsibility.” Because nothing says “responsibility” like pretending the past four years of neglect never happened.

Sorry, Darron, but that political spin cycle isn’t fooling anyone. You can wash, rinse, and repeat your statement all you like, but that stench of truth isn’t coming out. You said it because it’s true — Golden Isles has been ignored by the New Day PLP government, and everyone knows it.

Now the PLP wants the people of Golden Isles to hand them the keys again — the same folks who’ve left the lights unfixed, the roads unpaved, and the parks unsafe for kids. That’s not “a New Day,” that’s Groundhog Day.

Golden Isles doesn’t need another empty promise wrapped in a press release. They need representation that actually shows up — and that person is Brian Brown. He’s been there, he’s listened, and he knows the needs of the community because he’s part of it.

The PLP says “trust us this time.” But remember — fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, I must be voting PLP again.

So, residents of Golden Isles, don’t get played by the same old script. Don’t let the spin doctor’s gaslight you into believing neglect is progress. Vote for Brian Brown and the FNM — because the only thing the PLP seems to fix reliably these days… is their own mistakes.

The people of Golden Isles deserve better; they deserve Brain Brown.

END

At first, everyone said, “Darron who?” But now that we’ve gotten to know the New Day Progressive Liberal Party’s (PLP’s) candidate for Golden Isles a little better… it seems he’s the one who forgot which political organization he’s representing.

In a headline that could’ve been pulled straight from the Opposition’s press office — “State of Neglect” — The Nassau Guardian reports that PLP candidate Darron Pickstock spent his nomination day describing how the very constituency his own party has represented for over four years has been “ignored” and “neglected.”

Yes, you heard that right. The PLP candidate is campaigning by pointing out how terrible the PLP has been at governing his area. It’s almost poetic — if irony could vote, it’d be in line at the polls right now.

Standing on a rally stage after his nomination at Anatol Rodgers High School, Pickstock declared:

“I am tired of people being ignored… I’m tired of people calling for help and getting excuses… I’m tired of seeing our community wait years for simple things — a fixed streetlight, a paved road, a safe park for kids.”

Powerful words — until you remember that the PLP has been in power this whole time. It’s like a firefighter complaining there’s too much fire while holding the hose.

And then, as if to hammer home the point, he posts photos of himself fixing basketball rims — which, while commendable, raises another question: is that policy now? Should we expect the next PLP candidate to show up with a toolbox and a can of paint?

But let’s not overlook the most awkward part: Golden Isles wasn’t vacant because the PLP lost it — it’s vacant because of the untimely passing of the late Vaughn Miller, a man who represented the PLP in this very constituency. May he rest in peace.

So, when Pickstock says the area has been “ignored,” is he really talking about the opposition? Or is he… throwing the late Vaughn Miller under the bus to make himself look like a reformer?

Has the PLP leadership given him the green light to run over their own record — and their own former MP — in the name of “real progress”? Or will we soon hear that Pickstock “misspoke,” the universal PLP code for “he said the quiet part out loud”?

If this is the strategy — admitting the PLP’s own neglect and blaming it on the departed — then Golden Isles voters might reasonably ask: if this is how they treat their own, how do you think they’ll treat you?

Because if the New Day looks this much like yesterday’s neglect, maybe the sun never actually rose.

END