A short time ago, I called Prime Minister Philip Davis. I congratulated him on his party’s victory at the polls and offered him my and our best wishes.
He has my prayers for the work ahead, and he has the assurance that His Majesty’s Loyal Opposition, the one that he will face in the House of Assembly, will be committed to the Bahamian people and show loyalty to the causes that affect their lives.
Today, the Bahamian people made their choice. In a democracy, that is the only voice that ultimately matters. The people of the Bahamas have spoken and we accept their decision.
That is how a democracy works. We make our case. We ask for your trust. We count the ballots. And we honor what the count says.
That has been the Bahamian way, and tonight, we honor it once again.
To every Bahamian who voted today. Thank you. Thank you for showing up. Thank you for taking your democracy seriously.
Whether you voted FNM, PLP, or for any other party or individual.
You are the reason this country still belongs to its people.
To the tens of thousands of Bahamians across these islands who voted for the free national movement, I am and we are grateful to you beyond what words can express.
Because of your efforts, we have expanded our numbers in the House of Assembly.
And so it is my privilege to congratulate and welcome the new members of Parliament. Now bear in mind these numbers will be official tomorrow… but let me welcome MICAL’s new Member of Parliament, J. Leo Ferguson.
Free Town Member of Parliament Lincoln Deal.
Central Grand Bahama Member of Parliament-elect Frazette Gibson.
East Grand Bahama J. Kwasi Thompson.
Long Island Member of Parliament Dr. Andre Rollins.
St. Anne’s Adrian White.
Killarney, Michela Barnett-Ellis.
You believed in a different kind of government.
You believed in honest, accountable government that’s fair in all of its dealings, fair in its issuance of contracts.
You believed in a Bahamas that works for all of our people.
That belief did not lose tonight. That belief endures and it will outlast every election that comes.
To my deputy leader, Shanendon Cartwright and our chairman, my brothers, my friends, thank you very much for your selfless service.
To every candidate who carried our colors into each constituency, win or lose, you are champions to me and you should be champions to every FNM tonight.
Especially to those who came up short.
The work you did was not wasted. It was a down payment on the next chapter of our country.
To the canvases, all of you here tonight who knocked on many doors.
To the volunteers who gave up their evenings, their weekends, well, truly gave up your days.
To the donors who believed in us.
To the staff at headquarters who gave their time to make this campaign possible.
Thank you for all of your sacrifices.
There’s no FNM tonight in victory or in loss without you.
To my wife and daughter, I want to say a special thanks. But the truth is all of us have spouses and loved ones.
And I want to say to all of you that have stood on the side of and behind all of these candidates and workers, we want to extend a special thanks to all of you for the sacrifices you made, the price you paid right along with them.
I want to take a moment now to speak directly to the FNM’s in this room and those watching at home tonight because I know what you’re feeling and I want you to know that all of us we feel the same way.
To the young person who voted FNM for the first time, I want to say to you that your commitment today should not leave you wondering tonight whether your vote mattered.
I want you to hear us. It mattered.
You stood in line and cast the ballot for the Bahamas you believed in. That is something significant.
That’s everything. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise.
To the Bahamians who have been with the FNM since the days of Sir Cecil, those who have voted in every election since 1972, who’ve watched victories and watched losses, and who is sitting tonight wondering if the long road was worth it.
I say to you that it was and it is.
The Bahamas is freer, more accountable, more honest because of every voter who spoke tonight and in other elections.
And we want you to hold up your head tonight. You did not lose. The work simply continues.
To the candidate who went to bed believing that he or she would wake up as a member of parliament and have to face different results, we want you to know that we see you and I know the weight of what you are carrying.
I’ve been there.
The country needed your name on the ballot and your efforts. The country still needs you.
Do not put down what you’ve been called to deliver.
My fellow Bahamians, our calling did not begin tonight and it does not end tonight.
Amen.
When Hubert Ingram stood at this very crossroad in 2012, he reminded us that what this party has done for our country is significant.
He reminded us that the free national movement introduced the era of government in the sunshine. The government committed to accountability and transparency.
That calling did not retire with him. That calling did not retire tonight.
Every generation of FNMs is given the same task to keep the books open to keep the public trust at the center of public life.
Tonight, that task passed to a new generation of FNMs.
And I hope that you as we have will accept it.
We were not building a government. We were building a country.
The country endures.
Tomorrow morning the Free National Movement takes up the role the Bahamian people have given us. The role of His Majesty’s Loyal Opposition.
And we will guard your trust and we will honor it by our efforts.
We will oppose when we must.
We will agree when the government’s plans serve the Bahamian people’s interest.
And we will oppose when it doesn’t.
We will never ever forget who sent us to that house, nor the friends who stood by us, the donors who contributed to this party.
Not the powerful but the people of these family of islands who deserve a government that works for them.
And so whether that government is ours or someone else’s own tonight the result was not what we had hoped for.
But the country we love did not disappear when the polls closed.
The Bahamas we love is still there. It’s still ours and it’s still home.
To the people of Marco City who have honored me with the privilege of representing you again: I want to say thank you. I will continue to serve you with everything that I have.
To all of you who are in this room tonight: Every day, I recognize that I stand on your shoulders, that you’ve given me the rarest of opportunities to serve our community, and I will do so vigilantly.
To every Bahamian, on every island, in every constituency, in every party. To all of you, even those who have no party at all—May God bless the work that we have done.
May God bless the work yet to come.
May God bless this beautiful country and may God bless the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.