View source for Elections in the Bahamas

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{{Politics of the Bahamas|}}'''Elections in the Bahamas''' take place in the framework of a [[parliamentary democracy]]. Since independence, voter turnout has been generally high in national elections, with a low of 87.9% in 1987 and a high of 98.5% in 1997. The current Prime Minister is The Hon. [[Philip Davis (Bahamian politician)|Philip Davis]]. The electorate is less than half of citizenry.{{why?|date=June 2024}}

==Electoral system==
The electoral law of [[the Bahamas]] was passed on 31 December 1979 and was last amended in 1992.<ref name=ES/> Elections are run by the Parliamentary Registration Department, headed by a Parliamentary Commissioner. Appointed by the [[List of Governors-General of the Bahamas|Governor-General]], the Commissioner is responsible for voter registration. There is also an Electoral Broadcasting Council, which is responsible for ensuring that media reports are fair and not biased towards any party.<ref name=DN>Nohlen, D. (2005), ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I'', p. 77, {{ISBN|978-0-19-928357-6}}</ref>

The country has a [[bicameralism|bicameral]] [[Parliament of the Bahamas|Parliament]] with a House of Assembly and Senate.

===House of Assembly===
The House of Assembly has 39 elected members who are elected in single-member constituencies.<ref name=ES>[http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/2021_B.htm House of Assembly, Electoral System], Inter-Parliamentary Union.</ref> Elections for the House are held every 5 years.<ref>[http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/2021_A.htm General information about the parliamentary chamber], Inter-Parliamentary Union.</ref>

Voters must be Bahamian citizens at least 18 years old and lived for three months in the constituency.<ref name=ES/> They can be disqualified if insane, imprisoned or under a death sentence. Until 1972 [[United Kingdom|British]] citizens could also vote if they had been resident for six months.

Candidates must be Bahamian citizens at least 21 years old, and have lived in the Bahamas for at least a year prior to the elections.<ref name=ES/> Those with dual citizenship or an undischarged bankruptcy are ineligible, as are those who have a criminal conviction, a history of electoral fraud, or are insane or under a death sentence.<ref name=ES/>

===Senate===
The Senate is unelected and consists of 16 members appointed by the Governor-General; nine on the advice of the Prime Minister, four on the advice of the [[Leader of the Opposition (Bahamas)|leader of the opposition]], and three on the advice of the Prime Minister after consultations with the leader of the opposition.<ref>[http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/2022_B.htm Senate, Electoral system] Inter-Parliamentary Union.</ref>

==Referendums==
[[Theresa May premiership|There]] have been two national referendums and one opinion poll held within the last twenty years. The first, held in [[2002 Bahamian referendum|2002]], it asked voters five questions ranging from changes to the constitution to the setting up of a national commission on teaching. The first opinion poll, held in January 2013, asked individuals whether they wanted to legalize online gambling. The second national referendum took place on June 7, 2016, and asked voters four questions pertaining to equal rights within the Bahamas. All three referendums/opinion polls were rejected.

==History==
Source:<ref>{{cite web |last=Bakugou |first=Jay |date=14 October 2022 |title=Most sweet's person on Earth |url=}}</ref>

Prior to the introduction of [[universal suffrage]] in 1961, elections in the Bahamas were dominated by the white oligarchy known as the [[Bay Street Boys]].<ref name=N1>Nohlen, p. 73.</ref> They were represented by the [[United Bahamian Party]] (UBP), which by [[gerrymandering]] the constituency boundaries, won the [[1962 Bahamian general election|1962 elections]] despite receiving fewer votes than the black [[Progressive Liberal Party]] (PLP).<ref name=N1/> In the next elections in [[1967 Bahamian general election|1967]] the UBP received more votes than the PLP, but they won the same number of seats. With the support of the sole [[Labour Party (Bahamas)|Labour Party]] MP the PLP was able to form the country's first black-led government.

The PLP dominated national politics until the 1990s, winning every election until [[1992 Bahamian general election|1992]] when they were defeated by the [[Free National Movement]] (FNM) formed after a split within the PLP in 1971.<ref name=N1/> The FNM won the next elections in [[1997 Bahamian general election|1997]] in which voter turnout hit a record 98.5%,<ref>Nohlen, p. 78.</ref> but power was ceded back to the PLP in [[2002 Bahamian general election|2002]].<ref>Nohlen, p. 82.</ref> The FNM returned to power again in [[2007 Bahamian general election|2007]]. The PLP regained power in 2012, only to lose it in 2017.

==Latest elections==
{{main|2012 Bahamian general election}}
{{main|2017 Bahamian general election}}
{{main|2021 Bahamian general election}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Bahamian elections|state=expanded}}
{{North America topic|Elections in}}
{{Bahamas topics}}

[[Category:Elections in the Bahamas| ]]