Turnquest says FNM has good chance of re-election

Former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Peter Turnquest said yesterday that the Free National Movement’s (FNM) chance of winning the next general election is “good” despite the resignations of two senior Cabinet ministers this year.

“My party’s chance of winning the next election, I think, is good,” Turnquest said.

“No administration goes without some challenges but if you weigh it in the balance, I think that we’ve done some good work in the last three years and we’ll see what happens when the time comes.”

When asked about his political future and whether he plans to run in the next election, Turnquest, who serves as East Grand Bahama MP, replied, “We’ll see what happens.”

Last month, Turnquest became the third minister to resign from Cabinet since the Minnis administration took office in May 2017.

His resignation came after he was accused of being a conspirator in a scheme that allegedly defrauded two companies — Alpha Aviation Limited and Advanced Aviation Limited — of around $28 million.

He was a director and manager of those companies.

The alleged fraudulent acts occurred between 2008 and 2017, according to a writ filed on November 16 by the law firm of Michael Scott, QC, a prominent FNM and chairman of the Hotel Corporation.

The resignation came six months after Dr. Duane Sands resigned as minister of health after The Nassau Guardian revealed that permanent residents were allowed to enter the country and quarantine in their home during a strict border closure that has left Bahamian citizens stranded abroad.

Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis said protocol was breached when the residents were permitted to land and quarantine at home.

Sands accepted responsibility for the breach.

In July 2019, Brent Symonette became the first minister to resign from Minnis’ Cabinet.

He has said that he “retired from active politics when I became 65 because I felt it time for younger people to have a go”.

On November 23, Minnis has shrugged off concerns about political scandals affecting his standing in the election.

“I think the people know exactly what we are doing,” he said.

“The people know our hearts. The people know the challenges we faced…”

Minnis has indicated that the election will not occur before the date it is legally due in May 2022.

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source https://thenassauguardian.com/turnquest-says-fnm-has-good-chance-of-re-election/