Jonathan Bell

Craig Cannonier, Glen Smith, Fabian Minors and Scott Stewart have been unveiled as One Bermuda Alliance candidates for the General Election.

Mr Cannonier, the former premier, will stay in Devonshire South Central, the safe seat he won at the 2012 election.

The public works minister gave a hard-hitting address, saying the island had witnessed failure under “an assumedly white party, and an assumedly black party”.

“This election is not about race, but about the business of saving this island,” he added.

Mr Cannonier described the OBA as “a bunch of unlikely people working together for the betterment of this country”.

Mr Smith, will defend the Devonshire North West he unexpectedly took from Paula Cox, the former premier, five years ago.

Wayne Caines was announced as the Progressive Labour Party candidate for that seat, ahead of Ms Cox, on Wednesday this week. Ms Cox has hinted she will run as an independent.

Mr Smith emphasised his canvassing and work on behalf of the neighbourhoods in his constituency, pointing to repainted homes, new lighting and benches added to the neighbourhood around Cedar Park.

He also extolled the OBA’s economic record, using the example of his own business, which he said has grown from 32 staff to 48 over the past 4½ years.

Mr Minors will run in Devonshire North Central, which was won narrowly by Glenn Blakeney for the PLP in 2012, and retained more convincingly by Diallo Rabain of the PLP at a by-election in February 2016.

Calling himself a proud St David’s Islander, Mr Minors added: “I’m also proud to say I have been a resident of Devonshire Parish for the past 24 years.”

He vowed to “knock on every door and listen to the constituents — I want to earn your trust and earn your vote”.

“We need the OBA to continue on with what it has started — we can all see the benefits of a better and safer Bermuda.”

Mr Stewart will run in Pembroke East, a safe PLP seat held by Walter Roban, the deputy leader.

“As a member of the Liquor Licensing Authority, I was sympathetic to the residents of Glebe Road, who faced by the sale of alcohol in their neighbourhood put a stop to it,” Mr Stewart said.

He also spoke of his work on the Bermuda Housing Trust, mandated to provide affordable housing for seniors, as well as his role as a councillor of Pembroke Parish and as a Commissioner of Charities — adding: “And don’t let anybody sell you ‘two Bermudas’. The older I get, the more I understand that all people want the same opportunity.”