Sir John Swan To Run In C10 Smith’s North
Sir John Swan has confirmed that he will be running as an independent candidate in Constituency 10 Smith’s North in the upcoming General Election which will be held on February 18th.
Sir John – the island’s longest serving Premier – also contested the by-election in May of last year, running against the OBA’s Robert King and the PLP’s Lindsay Simmons for the seat, which was made vacant when former Premier and OBA MP Michael Dunkley resigned from politics. The by-election resulted in the OBA’s Robert King winning with 209 votes [36.41%], while Sir John Swan got 184 votes [32.06%] and the PLP’s Lindsay Simmons was third with 181 votes [31.53%].
Speaking at a press conference today, where Suzie Arruda was announced as the independent candidate for Pembroke West, Sir John said, “Yes I will be running.
“I hope the people in Smith’s North realise the fact that this is not about party politics, this is not about John Swan, this is about Bermuda. This is about its people and some of the things to rectify, what I consider to be not only a local problem, but an international problem.”
Whilst the idea of Independents sounds refreshing, having 4 likely candidates in many Constituencies will dilute the vote and likely help the PLP stay in power. Not helpful and Sir John should run in a PLP marginal if he really feels he can sway voters.
I think this INDEPENDENTS PUSH is the PLP in SHEEP’S CLOTHING!!!