Gombey Liberation Party

The Gombey Liberation Party (GLP) is a grassroots political party in Bermuda that contested the 2003 general election. The party did not contest the subsequent 2007 election and seems to be defunct, having never attained a seat in the Bermuda Parliament.

24 year old artist and musician Gavin Sundjata Smith, the only known member, created the GLP with the assistance of his brother Corin, a former member of the youth wing of the Progressive Labour Party and future United Bermuda Party candidate, and used the name of a type of local dancer, the Gombey, to attract interest in the party.

Platform

Under the slogan, "The Power of One", the GLP's political platform — directed towards the Bermudian youth — revolved around removing the remnants of colonialism and British influence from Bermuda. Much of this influence comes in the form of the Governor of Bermuda, whom Smith claimed was consolidating his power — backed by a conservative neo-colonial movement — over the Bermuda Police Service, the Bermuda Regiment and the legal and banking systems.

GLP intended to use "therapeutic" instead of "adversarial" measures to attain its goals, including civic engagement and a balance between "grassroots values" and "establishment priorities":

Grassroots values

• Faith
• Family
• Fulfillment
• Fairness
• Freedom
• Fun
• Flexibility
• Unity

Establishment priorities

• Ideology
• Bureaucracy
• Necessity
• Force
• Control
• Protocol
• Efficiency
• ......

Read More