After Brief Alliance, Opposition Parties in Bahamas Split – Caribbean360.com (subscription)

Branville McCartney has resigned from the position of Leader of Opposition Business in the Senate, a few months after the Opposition Leader from a rival party chose him for his position. (Photo credit: The Tribune)

NASSAU, The Bahamas, Monday March 6, 2017 Less than three months after Opposition Leader Loretta Butler-Turner tied the political knot with Democratic National Alliance (DNA) leader Branville McCartney, that marriage has ended in a bitter divorce.

In an unexpected move, McCartney, who was appointed as Leader of Opposition Business in the Senate, announced his immediate resignation from the post, declaring that his team was disassociating itself from the farce that has become the official opposition.

He was appointed mid-December 2016, after Butler-Turner created history first by replacing Hubert Minnis as head of the Free National Movement (FNM) and becoming the first female Opposition Leader, and then again by choosing the head of another party to fill the post of Leader of Opposition Business in the Senate.

At a news conference last week, McCartney charged that Butler-Turner had only sown seeds of confusion and had brought no real leadership or ideas to the post.

As leader of the DNA, in consultation with the executives of the party, I feel that we must now divest ourselves of the farce that has become the official opposition and fully direct our efforts to securing victory in the next general election, he said.

He told journalists he accepted the proposal to work with the Butler-Turner in Senate with the understanding that the DNA was separate and apart from any other opposition force, but would lend its voice, ideas and strength in official opposition to the failed [Perry] Christie administration.

FLASHBACK: Loretta Butler-Turner and Branville McCartney shake hands after the latters appointment as Leader of Opposition Business in the Senate was announced to the media.

McCartney suggested it was an error and lamented that there was currently no opposition party or personality in the House of Assembly that exemplifies the traits of leadership.

It was now obvious that Bahamian people will be better served by a DNA not complicit in the dysfunction that hobbles in Parliament at this time, he added.

Insisting that Bahamians deserved better, McCartney wasted no time in offering his party as the best option to tackle the problems facing the country.

To the people of the Bahamas, we say that if you want a government serious about fighting crime and putting the fear of God into these savage criminals who apparently have free reign on our streets, look to the DNA; if you want an end to this corruption that pollutes and perverts governance in our country, look to the DNA; if you want real accountability for where in the world our billions of tax dollars have been funneled without our knowledge, look to the DNA; if you want a government that stands for you and will return power and prosperity to the rightful owners of The Bahamas, look to the DNA, he insisted.

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After Brief Alliance, Opposition Parties in Bahamas Split - Caribbean360.com (subscription)