OBA: Burt ‘governs by decree, not principle’
The “pivotal” General Election next Tuesday is a “choice between more of the same, or something better — a choice between fear or hope”, the leader of the One Bermuda Alliance said this morning.
In a statement described by the party as a closing argument, Jarion Richardson said that David Burt, the Premier, had called the election last month hoping for “validation for the choices he made, his policies and the legacy he hopes to leave behind”.
Instead, Mr Richardson cast the choice faced by voters as one between “continued decline, and renewal”.
He added: “The PLP Government acts as if power is a right, rather than a duty. That is not democracy or leadership. This is not what we deserve.
“Democracy only works when people demand better, and that’s the promise of the One Bermuda Alliance.”
Mr Richardson said the party had “stood up” after its heavy defeat in 2020 when “things were very difficult for the OBA”.
“We asked the tough questions,” he said. “We exposed their failures. We never stopped believing our mutual power to change the course of this country.”
Mr Richardson said the Opposition had witnessed “an incredible shift” in recent years that was “unimaginable in those quiet, anxious moments” after 2020.
“We saw it in town halls, starting small and now packed with Bermudians who want answers and solutions.
“We heard it on the doorsteps, at first reserved, now loud, heated and demanding change.”
Mr Richardson, who is the OBA candidate for Constituency 23 (Paget West), described the island as “broken”, with ageing infrastructure and “more than 6,000 Bermudians” having emigrated.
He said the PLP Government had “lost its way, spending recklessly, rewarding the powerful, ignoring your struggles”, and accused Mr Burt of governing “by decree instead of by principle and consensus”.
With five days until voters head to the polls, he insisted the OBA was “prepared to lead” with “a team ready to fix what is broken”.
Mr Richardson maintained that the PLP had spent two decades “exacerbating Bermuda’s problems, and their fixation on the past has only made these problems worse”.
He called on voters to “turn the page on division, on mismanagement, on empty, broken promises” in favour of a new beginning.
He added: “My commitment to you is this: when you make your choice in the voting booth, a vote for the OBA is a vote for a government that believes in you.”
• To see the Opposition leader’s statement, see Related Media
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