Free National Movement (FNM) Leader Michael Pintard asked voters last night to give his party a chance.
Voters head to the polls today where 41 seats are up for grabs.
More than 130 candidates are vying for seats, and more than 209,000 people are on the voter’s register.
“Tonight we are asking you to once again to invest your trust in a team that promise to serve you in humility; to be honest in the conduct of the presiding over your affairs; to be open and transparent with you about how we are making decisions about scarce resources to save lives; to explode opportunities; to give opportunity to allow this economy to grow more than this 1.6 percent down from the 14 percent in 2021.” Pintard said at the party’s final rally at the old carnival site near the sports center.
“The truth is, we can and must do better if we are to meet the challenges of today and face the challenges of tomorrow.”
Pintard said The Bahamas is facing a healthcare crisis, a shortage of nurses and a shortage of medication in the hospitals.
He said an FNM government would fix this.
He said the FNM is also committed to creating opportunities for Bahamians.
“Tonight, we have come to raise the case that we are not just looking for an opportunity to get into a position of power, we want an opportunity to work with you in ushering in a new Bahamas,” Pintard said.
Pintard, the Marco City MP, was first elected in 2017 under the Minnis administration.
He served as minister of youth, sports and culture and as minister of agriculture and marine resources. After the FNM’s devastating loss in 2021, Pintard was elected leader of the party. He spent much of his time in opposition pushing back against challenges from the party’s former leader, Dr. Hubert Minnis.
Minnis was denied a nomination from the party for the Killarney seat — which he has held since 2007. He is now running as an independent in that seat against the FNM’s Michela Barnett-Ellis.
The Progressive Liberal Party has used this as one of its arguments on why the FNM should not be elected — the continued infighting in the FNM.
Pintard has spent much of the campaign focused on PLP Leader Philip Davis and the FNM’s plans if elected.
He has criticized the PLP over what he has said is its failure on immigration, crime and the economy.
“I want you to know that the Freedom of Information Act, we won’t be scared of it because we won’t be doing any crookedness,” he said.
“We will bring it into force.”
Pintard also promised to hire 100 more doctors and 200 more nurses in the healthcare sector.
“This is why we fight,” he said.
