Bahamian general election, 2002

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General elections were held in the Bahamas on 2 May 2002. The opposition Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) won 29 of the 40 seats in the House of Assembly to defeat the governing Free National Movement (FNM). Voter turnout was 90.2%. [1]

Progressive Liberal Party

The Progressive Liberal Party is a populist and social liberal party in the Bahamas. The PLP lies on the centre-left of the political spectrum. Philip "Brave" Davis is the leader of the party after Perry Christie lost his bid for re-election as a representative in the 2017 election.

Free National Movement

The Free National Movement is a conservative political party in The Bahamas formed in the 1970s, led by Cecil Wallace Whitfield. The current leader of the party is Hubert Minnis and his deputy is Peter Turnquest. It dominated the General Election held on 10 May 2017, winning 35 of the 39 seats in the Legislature.

Contents

Background

In the 1992 election the Free National Movement came to power after defeating the then governing Progressive Liberal Party. Their leader Hubert Ingraham served as Prime Minister from 1992 until he announced his intention to step down as Prime Minister at the 2002 general election. [2] Tommy Turnquest was then narrowly elected as the next leader of the FNM and would be the party's candidate for Prime Minister at the election. [3]

Hubert Ingraham Prime Minister of the Bahamas

Hubert Alexander Ingraham is a Bahamian politician who was Prime Minister of the Bahamas from August 1992 to May 2002 and again from May 2007 to May 2012. He is a member of the Free National Movement Party (FNM). Prior to the 2012 election, he was the FNM's Party Leader and was the Member of Parliament for the North Abaco constituency. He served as Leader of the Opposition in the House of Assembly from 2005 to 2007.

The FNM government suffered a setback in February 2002 when an attempt to amend the constitution was rejected in a referendum. [3] The referendum had been contested between the two main parties after the PLP reversed their earlier support and campaigned against the changes. [2] [3]

Campaign

A record 132 candidates stood in the election for the 40 seats in the House of Assembly that were being contested. [4] These were from 4 political parties and included 40 from the governing FNM and 37 from the opposition PLP. [4] As well as the candidates from political parties there were also 14 independents. [4]

The FNM defended their time in government, pointing to the strong economic growth over the period and the large amount of foreign investment that had come into the Bahamas. [3] Their new leader Tommy Turnquest pledged to continue as they had been doing under Hubert Ingraham. [2] However the opposition PLP criticised the FNM as being out of touch and attacked them for being too quick to comply with the OECD's Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering. [3] The PLP said that they would help the less well off and develop islands they said had been neglected by the FNM. [5]

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), also known by its French name, Groupe d'action financière (GAFI), is an intergovernmental organization founded in 1989 on the initiative of the G7 to develop policies to combat money laundering. In 2001 its mandate expanded to include terrorism financing. It monitors progress in implementing the FATF Recommendations through "peer reviews" of member countries. The FATF Secretariat is housed at the OECD headquarters in Paris.

Both parties made fierce attacks on each other with the FNM reminding voters of the scandals over drug money that had led to the PLP losing power back in 1992. [4] Meanwhile, the PLP accused the FNM's Tommy Turnquest of corruption over the awarding of government contracts. [4] Despite the harsh campaign, outside commentators expected little change in policies whichever party was successful in the election. [2]

There was no trouble on election day, with schools and liquor stores being closed and polling stations seeing a high turnout. [4] [6]

Results

The results saw the PLP win over half of the vote and 29 of the seats in the House of Assembly. [5] The FNM conceded defeat, with their leader Tommy Turnquest being one of several cabinet ministers to lose their seats. [4] [5] [7] The leader of the PLP, Perry Christie, became the new Prime Minister of the Bahamas on 3 May 2002. [4] [5]

PartyVotes%Seats+/-
Progressive Liberal Party 66,90151.829+24
Free National Movement 52,80740.97−28
Bahamas Democratic Movement 4140.320New
BCP120.010New
SUR100.010New
Independents6,2724.94+4
Invalid/blank votes1,349---
Total130,536100400
Source: Nohlen

Elected MPs

Number Name Party District Ethnicity
1 Frank Smith Progressive Liberal Party New Providence East - St. Thomas More Black
2 Pierre Dupuch Independent New Providence East - St. Margaret White
3 Brent Symonette Free National Movement New Providence East - Montagu White
4 Fred Mitchell Progressive Liberal Party New Providence East – Fox Hill Black
5 Melanie Griffin Progressive Liberal Party New Providence East - Yawmacraw Black
6 Malcolm Adderley Progressive Liberal Party New Providence East - Elizabeth Black
7 Sidney Stubbs Progressive Liberal Party New Providence East – Holy Cross Black
8 Alfred Sears Progressive Liberal Party New Providence West – Fort Charlotte Black
9 Neville Wisdom Progressive Liberal Party New Providence West - Delaporte Black
10 John Carey Progressive Liberal Party New Providence West - Carmichael Black
11 Micheal Halkitis Progressive Liberal Party New Providence West – Adelaide Black
12 Leslie Miller Progressive Liberal Party New Providence West – Blue Hills Black
13 Keod Smith Progressive Liberal Party New Providence West – Mt. Moriah Black
14 Bradley Roberts Progressive Liberal Party New Providence South – Bain & Grants Town Black
15 Perry Christie Progressive Liberal Party New Providence South – Farm Rd Black
16 Cynthia Mother Pratt Progressive Liberal Party New Providence South – St. Cecilia Black
17 Glennys Hanna-Martin Progressive Liberal Party New Providence South - Englerston Black
18 Ron Pinder Progressive Liberal Party New Providence South - Marathon Black
19 Veronica Owens Progressive Liberal Party New Providence South -Garden Hills Black
20 Shane Gibson Progressive Liberal Party New Providence South – Golden Gates Black
21 Tennyson Wells Independent New Providence South – Bamboo Town Black
22 Kenyatta Gibson Progressive Liberal Party New Providence South – Kennedy Black
23 Allyson Gibson Progressive Liberal Party New Providence South – Pinewood Black
24 Agatha Marchelle Progressive Liberal Party New Providence South – South Beach Black
25 Obie Wilchcombe Progressive Liberal Party Grand Bahama – West End & Bimini Black
26 Ann Perecentie Progressive Liberal Party Grand Bahama – Pine Ridge Black
27 Kenneth Russell Free National Movement Grand Bahama – High Rock Black
28 Lindy Russell Free National Movement Grand Bahama – Eight Mile Rock Black
29 Neko Grant Free National Movement Grand Bahama – Lucaya Black
30 Pleasant Bridgewater Progressive Liberal Party Grand Bahama – Marco City Black
31 Vincent Peet Progressive Liberal Party Andros – North Andros & Berry Islands Black
32 Whitney Bastian Independent Andros – South Andros Black
33 Hubert Ingraham Free National Movement Abaco – North Abaco Black
34 Robert Sweeting Free National Movement Abaco – South Abaco White
35 Alvin Smith Free National Movement Eleuthera – North Eleuthera, Spanish Wells, & Harbour Island Black
36 Oswald Ingram Progressive Liberal Party Eleuthera – South Eleuthera Black
37 Phillip Davis Progressive Liberal Party Cat Island & Rum Cay Black
38 Anthony Moss Progressive Liberal Party Exuma – Rolleville Black
39 Larry Cartwright Independent Long Island – Long & Ragged Island White
40 Alfred Gray Progressive Liberal Party Mayaguana, Inagua, Crooked, Acklins, & Long Cay Islands Black
Source: bahamasb2b.com

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References

  1. ↑ Nohlen, D (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I, p82 ISBN   978-0-19-928357-6
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Bahamas victor will face depressed economy". Financial Times . 2002-05-0126. p. 8.Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "The Americas: Simmering discontents; The Bahamas". The Economist . 9 March 2002. p. 62.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Bahamas: parliamentary elections House of Assembly, 2002". Inter-Parliamentary Union.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Bahamas gets a new premier". Financial Times . 4 May 2002. p. 2.
  6. ↑ "Bahamians flock to polls for national elections". The Blade . 3 May 2002. p. 25.
  7. ↑ "Ruling party boss upset in Bahamian election". The Blade . 3 May 2002. p. 2.
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