The evening of 8th July 1956 was a defining moment in Bahamian political history. That night would alter the lives of several men, who, although would not realise it at the time, were starting and ending their political ambitions.
1956 was the first general election contested by the Progressive Liberal Party. Fifteen candidates were put forward; six were successful. And of those six, someone had to be chosen as Party Leader in the House of Assembly.
Of those six, Cyril Stevenson, Clarence Bain, Randol Fawkes, Lynden Pindling, Milo Butler and Sammie Isaacs, one man, it was decided could not be Party leader because he was too light skinned and wasn’t black enough for the PLP council. Another, who had already captured the admiration and following of working class black Bahamians, felt sure that he would chosen. But, the PLP founding fathers, for their own reasons, did not want him.
Randol Fawkes and Lynden Pindling were the big winners for Southern District 1956
Why Pindling?
Why Pindling? The short answer is, there were those who saw leadership potential in him very early on.
Incredibly, Lynden Pindling was chosen to be PLP Parliamentary Leader, just the night before he first walked into the House of Assembly on 9th July 1956.
Pindling was a greenhorn, as Henry Milton Taylor would recall about that Sunday evening of 8th July 1956. A greenhorn was an old English term meaning novice or inexperienced. Politically speaking, Pindling had no experience in the jousting and routing of Parliament. Not only did he have to learn how to be an Assembly member, he had to learn how to be a Leader as well.
What is unclear is whether or not Pindling knew beforehand that he was being strongly considered to be Parliamentary Leader for the PLP.
H. M. Taylor recalls a story about Milo Butler being locked in the toilet during an important debate in the House
The Race Was Fixed
PLP founding members, Henry Milton Taylor, who ran in 1956 but was not successful and Cyril Stevenson who won a seat for Andros, met the evening before the general council meeting to choose a Party Leader.
Pindling was chosen over labour union organiser Randol Fawkes. This choice, as history reveals, led Lynden Pindling to unimaginable political greatness. At the same moment, this choice raked at the very soul of Randol Fawkes and for good reason.
Fawkes was elected as the senior representative for the Southern District of New Providence. Pindling came in second, becoming the junior member. Fawkes polled 1,243 votes to Pindling’s 1,165 votes.
Pindling and Fawkes were carried on the shoulders of PLP supporters when results were read – June 1956
Henry Milton Taylor, founding member of PLP recalls the meeting with Cyril Stevenson, another founding member of PLP, in 1956, when they decided to nominate Pindling as Party Leader
Henry Taylor tells Cyril Stevenson that he would nominate him as Party Leader in the Assembly, but because of his “complexion” he would never be voted in by the Council. And this would open the door for someone to nominate Randol Fawkes. Neither Taylor or Stevenson wanted Fawkes as PLP Party Leader.
“Would you agree to have Fawkes nominated.” Cyril asked. “I do not think so,” I answered him. “I have a lot of respect for Fawkes, but I do not think he will be suitable as a Leader. I do not think he will make a good Prime Minister.”
Taylor writes that he purposely did not put any hint of an impending leader vote on the agenda. He did not want it discussed beforehand. If it had been a topic of prior discussions, a council or member coup of the party might have resulted.
Taylor told an anxious room filled with PLP Council members that the first meeting of the House was going to take place the very next day and “We cannot afford to send these men into the House as “Sheep without a Shepherd”.
“I am therefore recommending that you elect Pindling” said H. M. Taylor. Cyril Stevenson immediately got up and said “I nominate Mr. Pindling to be the Parliamentary Leader of the Party.”
Fawkes’s rejection for Leader leads to acrimonious break with PLP
Randol Fawkes’s rejection as PLP Party Leader in July 1956 began a downward spiral in his relationship with Pindling and the Progressive Liberal Party. Fawkes began to go his own way in Parliament. He ignored Pindling and PLP mandates and began to introduce his own bills for debate.
Only one year later, in 1957, Fawkes was suspended by the PLP.
Randol Fawkes went on to found his own Bahamas Federation of Labour Party, for which, he would be the only member of to sit in Parliament.
Candidates and New Representatives for General Election 1956
The 1956 Bahamas General Elections were held over two weeks. New Providence elections were held on 8th June 1956. The last of the Out Islands of Crooked Island, Inagua and Mayaguana went on until 20th June 1956.
Candidates Stafford Sands and Percy Edward Christie. P. E. Christie ran for the West seat in New Providence. In 1956, three Christie brothers—Harold G., Frank and Percy Christie—ran for the House of Assembly. Percy Christie was defeated by Milo Butler and Gerald Cash. Stafford Sands won his seat for the Nassau City District, New Providence
