The March to Majority Rule in The Bahamas

by Sir Arthur Foulkes

Another January 10 has come and gone and with it another round in the debate about what it means and whether it should be officially recognized in the calendar of national holidays.

There were many interesting comments on the radio talk shows and two particularly good contributions in the print media. One was by Tribune columnist Zhivargo Laing on January 12 and the other by Guardian writer Andrew Edwards. The piece by Mr. Edwards was tucked away in the Weekender supplement of The Guardian distributed with its January 13 issue. Both are well worth reading.

Unfortunately, today’s PLP, despite some appropriate comments by Prime Minister Perry Christie, has not matured enough to accept the full implications of the change, how it came to be and how it has been sustained and developed. It is unable to resist the temptation to treat it as a PLP thing and to milk it for partisan advantage.

One of the interesting questions posed by a caller on one of the radio shows went something like this: Why does not the 1962 general election mark the real beginning of majority rule and the full flowering of democracy in the Bahamas?

After all, that was the first election in which universal adult suffrage was exercised for the first time. On November 26 of that year Bahamian women voted for the first time and males 21 and over voted without property qualification.

Before the polls, the PLP had worked itself into a state approaching euphoria, confident it would win. The night before the election the party held a celebratory rally on Clifford Park.

PLP strategists had calculated that universal adult suffrage would overcome the shameless jerrymandering of the system which still existed. There were a few worried souls, however, like the late Granville (Smiley) Butler, who were not so sanguine.

When the ballots were counted it was clear that the PLP had out-polled the UBP with more than 32,000 votes. The UBP count was under 27,000. But despite this impressive show in popular votes the PLP got only eight out of 33 seats in the House of Assembly.

The uncompromising oligarchy, of which Stafford Sands was the de facto leader, remained entrenched. So it is difficult to make a case for 1962 as the year of majority rule.

It was the 1962 experience which led the PLP to protest so strenuously when the UBP refused to overhaul the electoral system in April 1965. Sweeping reform had to wait until after 1967 when more realistic boundaries were drawn and two- and three-member constituencies were abolished.

So how did January 10 1967 come about? Who contributed? And what does majority rule really mean? Any answers to these questions in this space must necessarily be brief and therefore run the risk of being inadequate.

Everybody knows that the results of the 1967 election were close. The PLP returned the following 18 members (in alphabetical order except for the Leader) to a 38-member House of Assembly:

Lynden Pindling, Preston Albury, Clarence Bain, Milo Butler, Clifford Darling, Elwood Donaldson, Arthur Foulkes, Carlton Francis, Arthur Hanna, Warren Levarity, Curtis MacMillan, Uriah McPhee, Maurice Moore, Edmund Moxey, Jimmy Shepherd, George Thompson, Jeffrey Thompson and Cecil Wallace Whitfield.

There were other progressive candidates who offered in that historic confrontation but who were not elected. They, too, contributed. Among them were Loftus Roker, Livingston Coakley and Anthony Roberts.

George Thompson, who was elected to one of the Eleuthera seats played a crucial part in achieving the 18 count for the PLP. Mr. Thompson, a black man, was a former UBP who had fallen out with his party.
He was extremely popular in Eleuthera and delivered two seats – his and Preston Albury’s -- to the PLP. Without him, the PLP would have lost. The party could not have found another candidate who could defeat the UBP in Eleuthera.

The role of Randol Fawkes is well known but sometimes not as well understood. Sir Randol had been elected as senior member (with Sir Lynden as his junior) in the Southern District in 1956. In that election he ran on the PLP ticket but later became disaffected.

He ran as Labour in 1962 and 1967. In his inimitable fashion Sir Randol sought to take single-handed credit for majority rule in 1967. But he had indeed contributed mightily to the progressive movement as the country’s premier labour leader.

It was inconceivable that he could have sided with the UBP. He was solidly entrenched in the movement and ran with the support of the PLP. If the PLP had opposed him he would no doubt have been defeated.

Alvin Braynen did have a choice. He was identified with the Old Guard but was feuding with them at the time and so ran as an independent candidate in 1967.

It is doubtful that Sir Alvin was motivated by any strong belief in what the progressives had been advocating. More likely he was motivated by revenge or personal ambition. He threw in his lot with the PLP and accepted the post of Speaker of the House. He could just as easily, and with no loss of credibility, aligned himself with the UBP.

Another little known factor in the PLP’s performance was that Sir Lynden had to be persuaded to run in the Kemp’s Bay (South Andros) Constituency against the popular Cyril Stevenson.

Mr. Stevenson, a founding member of the PLP, left the party in 1965 over the mace incident and the party’s boycott of parliament. He did not join Paul Adderley’s NDP but ran as an independent.

Sir Lynden was reluctant to leave his safe seat in New Providence but his NCPA friends, supported by Lady Pindling, rightly judged that he was the only PLP candidate who could defeat Mr. Stevenson.

He was assured that in the event of his defeat one of his friends would have resigned so he could be elected in New Providence and remain leader of the party. Sir Lynden won and continued to represent Kemp’s Bay until he left the House in 1997.

There were others who were not elected to parliament in 1967 but who nevertheless made great contributions in the march towards that day. Among them were C. R. Walker and Bert Cambridge.

Perhaps most notable was Etienne Dupuch who struck a major blow against the racism of the old guard with his 1956 anti-discrimination resolution.

Sir Etienne attempted unsuccessfully to create what he called a more moderate alternative to both the UBP and the PLP. He frequently expressed the opinion that the PLP was not ready to govern and he had a serious problem with the credibility of Sir Lynden.

Nevertheless, for years Sir Etienne excoriated the old guard both from the floor of parliament and in the columns of his newspaper. He condemned their arrogance and relentlessly exposed their corrupt dealings.

Once he wrote a series of 30 articles exposing the shenanigans of just one prominent member of the old guard. He lamented the fact that while there were some good people among the Bay Street Boys, their leaders were hopelessly arrogant and intransigent.

It was Sir Etienne’s unrelenting campaign against that corruption, arrogance and intransigence and for reform which opened the eyes of thousands of Bahamians. The PLP was the chief beneficiary of this.

Comments

[michael hepburn]

surely true historical search will show that sir randol was indeed the cataclysmic force in the great bahamian revolution.it was more than just his decision to not side with the ubp!who was first called the bahamas' black moses?who was exiled for love of country?who was falsely jailed under sedition charges?who first activated the ideal of independence?labor day;prepared the pathway forsocial and economic revolution?let's teach a balanced history to our youth and generations yet enborn.sir randol was rightly so first hailed as:the father of our nation!

[Ian]

Yes I agree, he was a great Bahamian.

We have to right our right and wrong our wrongs.

Miss Him and Sir Ping.

[Ian]

Congrats to Dame Lady Pindling she deserves the Medal. Salute!
We as Bahamians Have to Honor and respect Our Own.
You Go Girl You Bahamian Queen.
My respects to The Rt. Hon. Sir. Ping he Was one of a kind, Honor, Respect and Dignity.
Great party (s) Produce
"great fruit." Fact look at The Rt. Hon. Perry G. Christie A smart strong Giant of a man, savvy Politicion and forever clever thats My Prime Minister.
Love you Sir Nuff respect.

Bahamian Ameriacn 100%
Registered Voter.

[Ian]

Love you Sir. Pindling-Lady Dame Pindling.

Love you RT. Hon.Perry G. Christie
Lady Christie.

We Miss you too Minister Sahne Gibson we will put you back into Power, for sure!

PLP all the way!