AN EXUBERANT crowd cheered on newly elected PLP deputy leader Philip "Brave" Davis as he stepped up to the convention stage last night, buoyant in his victory and filled with enthusiasm for his new post.

The MP for Cat Island, Rum Cay and San Salvador exclaimed that he will do everything in his power to move the party into government and work in a government of action.

The new deputy leader led an ardent campaign driven by a team of tenacious young Bahamians and seasoned politicians to ensure he would secure the position above contenders Senator Jerome Fitzgerald and West End and Bimini MP Obie Wilchcombe.

Mr Davis won around 760 votes, while Mr Wilchcombe won 400 and Senator Fitzgerald won 200, and in the same way Mr Davis intends to ensure the PLP wins the government in the 2012 general election. Bowing to former deputy leader Cynthia "Mother" Pratt, who held the position for 12 years and was the country's first female deputy prime minister, Mr Davis paid credit to the party's rich history before he expounding his vision for the way forward.

Mr Davis exclaimed:

"The Bahamas is moving in the wrong direction! Education is in crisis! There is a serious lack of economic activity and the fear of crime is paralysing our nation!
"The problems of this country loom large on the horizon and so while the celebration that will invariably and deservedly follow in the next day or two have their place, we must remember that our mission is to change the Bahamas.
"There is much work to do, but together we can do it, because we have done it before."

Mr Davis vowed to change the Bahamas for the better by tackling crime through revision of the penal code to ensure there are stiff penalties to deter offenders.

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