They may be rivals come Nov. 7, but Thursday evening, five representatives — one from each party that has declared an intention to run in this year’s elections — were family.
In what is believed to be a first for the territory, the BVI Chamber of Commerce and Hotel Association brought together the politicians to hear their answers to what the chamber called “tough questions about critical issues facing the business community in particular and the wider community in general.”
Deputy Premier Dancia Penn represented the Virgin Islands Party, Opposition Leader Dr. Orlando Smith represented the National Democratic Party, Conrad Maduro represented the United Party, Natalio “Sowande Uhuru” Wheatley represented the People’s Patriotic Alliance, and Allen Wheatley represented the Party of the People.
Although not entirely in agreement, participants often supported the proposals of their fellows, and, in an election season when names like “broke” and “liar” have already been called, the candidates focused more on their ideas than on criticising each other.
The forum lasted nearly three hours and followed the form of many high-profile political debates seen internationally: The moderator posed a question and each candidate had two minutes to respond. After that, each candidate was given the opportunity to give a one-minute response to statements made by the others.
See the Oct. 6, 2011 edition for further coverage.