Following the Free National Movement’s (FNM) disappointing defeat in the May general election, the party’s chairman Dr. Duane Sands has publicly broken with the initial plan to delay a leadership convention until October 2027, arguing that the multi-year timeline is unreasonable and counterproductive to the party’s rebuilding efforts. In a televised interview on Our TV’s *On the Record* program last week, Sands laid out his vision for the party’s path forward, while stopping short of issuing a direct call for current leader Michael Pintard to step down.
Sands, who serves as the FNM’s administrative chief, argued that waiting until 2027 to hold a leadership convention is far too long for a party still reeling from an electoral loss that required deep internal reflection. The party’s Central Council, the second-highest governing body behind the convention itself, has already begun moving to adjust the timeline, according to Sands, with the first step being a transparent, objective post-mortem of the election defeat.
A core part of the planned evaluation, Sands emphasized, will be reaching outside the party’s inner circle to gather unfiltered feedback from voters who opted not to support the FNM in the recent vote. “If you only have FNMs talking, then you have an echo chamber,” he explained, noting that the goal is to collect honest input from non-supporters and abstaining voters on why the party failed to win their support, rather than reinforcing existing internal narratives. When asked to name a target timeline for the long-awaited convention, Sands said he believed the gathering should be held within the next several months, while clarifying that his personal position does not override the authority of the FNM’s governing bodies. “When you have the privilege of leading, as I do, my personal views are subject to the directives of the Council of the Free National Movement. But once a decision is made by Council, that is what I speak,” he noted.
Sands’ comments come amid mounting internal tension within the FNM, triggered by recent public remarks from former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, who urged the party to “find someone who could win” ahead of a recent Leadership Council meeting held at the home of ex-party leader Tommy Turnquest. Ingraham’s call drew a sharp rebuke from Pintard, who argued the former prime minister chose the wrong forum to question his leadership, while maintaining that he remains the best candidate to lead the party. But Sands pushed back against the interpretation that Ingraham’s comments were a direct attack on Pintard’s leadership.
“I don’t believe it was directed specifically — that this was a Pintard-specific message,” Sands said. “I think it is a message that says, whomever you choose to lead, make sure that they bring whatever it is to the table that can get FNM supporters, disaffected PLPs, independents to vote in large numbers.” He also noted that Ingraham’s recent comments do not contradict his public endorsement of Pintard issued four months before the election, explaining that the former prime minister likely expected the party to perform far better at the polls than it ultimately did.
When asked directly whether Pintard should resign in the wake of the election defeat, Sands noted that the FNM leader had already placed his political fate in the hands of the party membership. “It was very clear that he felt that his fate was not predetermined; that he thought it only appropriate, given the circumstances, that the party determined whether or not they would wish him to carry on or not,” he said. Pressed on whether Pintard should lead the FNM into the next general election, Sands gave a nuanced answer: while he confirmed Pintard is capable of holding the leadership role, he stopped short of saying it was the right choice for the party. “Can he? Yes, he can. That’s a different question,” he said.
Sands acknowledged that ongoing uncertainty around the party’s leadership has made Pintard’s day-to-day work more challenging, but praised the current leader for continuing to fulfill his duties. “He carries on because he’s a soldier. He carries on because he has a phenomenal and abiding love for this country,” Sands said.
Outlining his own analysis of the FNM’s May election defeat, Sands pointed to a range of contributing factors, singling out the party’s poor voter turnout operation as a key issue. “I think a number of persons did not feel inclined to come out and vote, and you know when you have an inability to get out the vote, you suffer,” he explained. In a final update on the party’s leadership structure, Sands confirmed that Deputy Leader Shanendon Cartwright remains an active and integral member of the FNM’s senior leadership team, with full access to platforms to address national issues, even though he was not appointed to the Senate following the election.