Former West End and Bimini MP Obie Wilchcombe declined to comment on his choice for leader of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), but said he believes the move is significant to the party’s history as it the first time a woman is vying for leadership.

Englerston MP Glenys Hanna-Martin announced on Monday that she will be running for the PLP’s top post and Wilchcombe said the fact that she is running shows that the PLP has a bench of individuals of who the party can choose from and if all goes well for the party’s future, there are individuals who can step up and lead.

“For the first time a woman moving into the race for leadership is significant in the history of our party, especially looking back at how the first woman to serve in the Cabinet was a PLP and Glenys Hanna-Martin was the first female chairman of the PLP,” he said during an interview yesterday.

Speaking about the party as a whole, Wilchcombe said the PLP must reconnect with its base and must understand the demographics of the country in order to reach out to all and let whites, blacks, young people and women know that the party is  here and looking for people.

Wilchcombe will be running for the party’s chairmanship position at the upcoming convention and said if he wins, he would immediately begin to have dialogue on the country’s issues and will get the branches more active and expanded.

He added that he will develop and use “the organs of the party to reach out to deal with poverty in our country.”

“We have to declare war on poverty. Our party was founded because we saw the need for the ordinary Bahamian to have greater recognition in his dire circumstances. We have to reach out to them,” Wilchcombe said.

Wilchcombe also noted  that he would facilitate a series of conferences including regional conferences to discuss relevant issues pertaining to particular areas to ensure that the PLP is  addressing the issues that concern the people as opposed to speaking over the heads of the people.

Former Fort Charlotte MP Alfred Sears, who ran against former PM Perry Christie earlier this year, has only gone on record to say that he was still considering trying his hand again at running for the party’s leader after the January defeat.

The PLP’s three-day convention is set for October 22 – 25.

The convention chairman is former Minister of State for Finance Michael Halkitis.