“Davis wins – Chester Cooper new deputy – Fred Mitchell new chairman” – The Nassau Guardian

After an election fraught with claims of voter registration irregularities and marked by tense and chaotic scenes throughout a long day of voting, Philip Brave Davis emerged the winner of the Progressive Liberal Party’s (PLP) leadership race late last night, crushing Glenys Hanna-Martin’s bid to become the first female leader of the party.

This is the first time in 20 years PLP’s have voted in a new leader.

Davis received 1,004 votes to Hanna-Martin’s 300.

The unofficial results were made public to a joyous crowd of PLP’s shortly before midnight at the Melia Nassau Beach hotel.

At 11.49 p.m., Davis declared from the convention stage: ‘I, Philip Brave Davis, accept the mantle of leadership.’

Exumas and Ragged Island MP Chester Cooper was named the party’s new deputy leader in an overwhelming victory against Ricardo Smith.

Senator Fred Mitchell comfortably defeated former Minister of Tourism in the race for chairman.

Former Senator Robyn Lynes won the deputy chairmanship.

Davis’ victory was declared hours after two power outages at the hotel as the count was about to begin.”

It is fitting that this process would be beset by darkness, as the slate for leadership of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) has been set with Mr. Davis at the head, Cooper at this side, Fred Mitchell as Chairman and former Senator Lynes as Deputy Chairman; the most compromised and controversial slate of ‘leaders’ that any political organization has seen to date in The Bahamas.

It is curious the manner in which Philip Brave Davis has finally come to power of the PLP, following five years as Deputy Leader under former leader of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Perry Christie, with numerous rumors of a ‘silent war’ being fought for control of the party by these two men, leading to several controversial incidences which helped aid in the party’s crushing defeat in May but yet the party has seen fit to put these very same person back in control of the party; simply amazing.

It has yet to be seen the direction in which the new leadership team will take the embattled political organization, whose problems since the defeat all seem to have come from inside and to actually been rooted in statements made by the new leader or new chairman; lest we forget the statement by the new deputy leader on the convention floor wherein she referred to the Free National Movement (FNM) government as “them niggas”. It is curious that this language has been accepted by the party’s former leaders and present leaders, without one of them coming out publicly to suggest that maybe the former senator should apologize for the use of such language in such a forum; as we can see they are already off to a great start, as she was elected deputy chair of the party and then there is a man that has promised retaliation for the party’s lost, Senator Fred Mitchell.  Exactly who was he threatening?  Not the persons that he would expect to vote for the party in 2022.

Indeed the party is off to a great start with this new leadership team, the only bright spot being Chester Cooper, already being eclipsed by those around him.

 The Progressive Liberal Party fails for one reason, it is their nature.

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