On Saturday, former Bahamian Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis officially kicked off his campaign to keep his hold on the Killarney constituency seat, using the launch event to level explosive allegations against his long-time political party, the Free National Movement (FNM), claiming its current leadership has systematically shut him out of party activities and orchestrated a smear campaign targeting him and his family.
Following the FNM’s disappointing general election defeat that pushed Minnis out of the prime minister’s office, the ex-leader says party officials have waged a coordinated effort to marginalize him. Despite his decades of loyalty to the FNM, Minnis said it was the party that turned its back on him, not the other way around. “I have always been an FNM. It was the FNM who left me, the FNM who abandoned me. I never walked away from the party,” he told reporters at Saturday’s press conference, adding that he could not stay silent about the unacceptable treatment he has received.
Minnis detailed the multiple restrictions the party imposed on him after the election. “After the loss, I was told the public rejected both me and the party, so I no longer had a place in FNM circles. All local party associations were ordered not to let me speak at any party events. Many groups had already invited me and put my name on their promotional materials, which put them in an incredibly difficult position. Out of respect for them, I told them to just find another speaker rather than risk conflict with party leadership,” he explained.
The restrictions went far beyond speaking bans, according to Minnis. “If that wasn’t enough, leadership told me I was not allowed to answer any questions from reporters at all. If the press approached me, I was supposed to report the question back to party leaders, let them draft a response, and they would speak to the press instead of me,” he said. When he pushed back against these rules, arguing they violate standard political procedures followed across The Bahamas and globally, Minnis says leadership gave him a blunt response that still stings: “I had my time, now it’s their turn. They’re in charge now, they make the rules, and they don’t want to hear anything I have to say.”
Worsening the tensions, Minnis also claimed the FNM launched a coordinated smear campaign against him and his wife. Even through this hostility, however, Minnis says he never lost his connection to the Killarney community, which he has represented for more than 20 years. “Like the people of Killarney, we stayed strong and stayed focused. I knew the voters would get their chance to have their say eventually. The FNM may have abandoned me, but I never abandoned Killarney, and I would never walk away from the loyal, wonderful people of this constituency,” he said.
Minnis emphasized that he is running as an independent candidate not out of preference, but out of necessity. He told constituents to treat all rival candidates with basic respect, but made clear he is asking voters to return him to office to continue his representation. Running without a party affiliation, he argues, frees him from binding party whips and forced policy alignment that would stop him from prioritizing the needs of Killarney residents first.
The candidate laid out a clear policy agenda focused on three key areas: public safety, digital innovation, and expanded social support. “We have already started a lot of important programs here in Killarney, but we need to be the first constituency in the country to roll out full CCTV coverage across every part of Killarney,” he said. “We also need to finish our ring doorbell program, so every single resident in the constituency can access this safety tool.”
Beyond public safety, Minnis proposed a new digital system for constituents to report community issues and pushed for the expansion of existing social support programs. In one of the most striking comments of his launch speech, he called out the deep crisis facing the country’s healthcare system, admitting that the sector has declined under every prime minister in modern history — including his own tenure.
“We cannot play political games with people’s health. Too many Bahamians are dying needlessly, and no one else in this race is willing to say it out loud. That’s the advantage of being an independent: I can tell voters the plain facts, no sugarcoating,” he said. Minnis is calling for the creation of a non-partisan special committee, made up of sitting politicians, healthcare professionals and ordinary members of the public, to lead a full overhaul of the country’s broken healthcare system. He urged voters to reject any candidate who refuses to back this reform push.
The campaign launch drew a number of high-profile Bahamian political figures in a show of support for Minnis, including former Deputy Governor General Lonnie Rolle, former Democratic National Alliance leader Branville McCartney, and former Bamboo Town Member of Parliament Renward Wells. When reached for comment on Minnis’ multiple allegations against the FNM, party chairman Dr. Duane Sands declined to issue any response.