Related Research Articles
The Bahamas, known officially as the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is a sovereign country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the archipelago's population. The archipelagic state consists of more than 3000 [2] islands, cays, and islets in the Atlantic Ocean, and is located north of Cuba and northwest of the island of Hispaniola and the Turks and Caicos Islands, southeast of the American state of Florida, and east of the Florida Keys. The capital is Nassau on the island of New Providence. The Royal Bahamas Defence Force describes The Bahamas' territory as encompassing 470,000 km2 (180,000 sq mi) of ocean space.
The Bahamas is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy headed by Queen Elizabeth II in her role as Queen of the Bahamas. The politics of the Bahamas takes place within a framework of parliamentary democracy, with a Prime Minister as the Head of Government. The Bahamas is an Independent Country and a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. As a former British colony, its political and legal traditions closely follow those of the United Kingdom. Queen Elizabeth II is the head of state, but executive power is exercised by the cabinet. Legislative power is vested in the two chambers of parliament. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature and jurisprudence is based on English common law. The multi-party system is dominated by the Progressive Liberal Party and the Free National Movement. The constitution protects freedom of speech, press, worship, movement, and association.
Sir Lynden Oscar Pindling, NH, KCMG, PC, JP was a Bahamian politician who is regarded as the "Father of the Nation" of the Bahamas, having led it to majority rule on 10 January 1967 and to independence on 10 July 1973. He served as the first black premier of the Colony of the Bahama Islands from 1967 to 1969 and as Prime Minister of the Bahamas from 1969 to 1992. He was leader of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) from 1956 to 1997 when he resigned from public life under scandal.
The Free National Movement is a political party in The Bahamas formed in the early 1970s, led by Sir Cecil Wallace Whitfield. The current leader of the party is Michael Pintard and his deputy Peter Turnquest. It dominated the general election held on 10 May 2017, winning 35 of the 39 seats in the Legislature, but was defeated in 2021, losing 28 seats.
The Progressive Liberal Party is a populist and social liberal party in the Bahamas. Philip Davis is the leader of the party.
Sir Roland Theodore Symonette, NH was a Bahamian politician and the first Premier of the Bahamas after self-government was achieved in 1964. He was leader of the United Bahamian Party (UBP), which some felt represented the interests of the "Bay Street Boys" and was the ruling party between 1958 and 1967. after 1967 Sir Roland Theodore Symonette asked Sir Randol Fawkes to join the U.B.P after the 1967 results were released. Reason why? To assist the U.B.P in the information of a new government
Guy Fawkes Night, also known as Guy Fawkes Day, Bonfire Night and Fireworks Night, is an annual commemoration observed on 5 November, primarily in Great Britain, involving bonfires and fireworks displays. Its history begins with the events of 5 November 1605 O.S., when Guy Fawkes, a member of the Gunpowder Plot, was arrested while guarding explosives the plotters had placed beneath the House of Lords. The Catholic plotters had intended to assassinate Protestant king James I and his parliament. Celebrating that the king had survived, people lit bonfires around London; and months later, the Observance of 5th November Act enforced an annual public day of thanksgiving for the plot's failure.
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.
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%.
General elections were held in the Bahamas on 26 November 1962, the first under universal suffrage. Whilst the Progressive Liberal Party won the most votes, the United Bahamian Party won the most seats, largely as a result of gerrymandering.
General elections were held in the Bahamas on 10 January 1967. The result was a tie between the Progressive Liberal Party and the United Bahamian Party, both of which won 18 seats. In a reversal of the previous election, this time the PLP received a lower share of the vote than the UBP, but was able to form the country's first black-led government with the support of the sole Labour Party MP Randol Fawkes.
The United Bahamian Party (UBP) was a major political party in the Bahamas in the 1950s and 1960s. Representing the interests of the white oligarchy known as the Bay Street Boys, it was the ruling party between 1958 and 1967. It was led by Roland Theodore Symonette.
The Labour Party was a minor political party in the Bahamas. In the 1962 general elections it won a single seat, taken by Randol Fawkes. Fawkes retained his seat in the 1967 elections, in which the United Bahamian Party and the Progressive Liberal Party won 18 seats each. Although the UBP had won more votes, Fawkes supported the PLP, allowing them to form a government. Fawkes retained his seat again in the 1968 elections, but the party did not contest the 1972 elections.
The Commonwealth Democratic Party was a minor political party in the Bahamas. It contested the 1982 elections, in which it received only 13 votes and failed to win a seat.
The Democratic National Alliance is a political party in The Bahamas, officially launched on 12 May 2011. The current leader of the DNA is Arinthia Komolafe, the Party's first female leader elected on 22 February 2019. Mrs. Komolafe succeeded Mr. Christopher A. Mortimer who served as Interim Leader from 24 October 2017 to 22 February 2019. He was preceded by the party's first leader and one of 13 founding members, Branville McCartney. The Party has contested two General Elections in The Bahamas in 2012 and 2017 gaining 8.5% and 4.7% of the popular vote respectively.
Cyril St. John Stevenson was a Bahamian politician and newspaper publisher. Stevenson, Sir Henry Milton Taylor and William Cartwright, co-founded the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) in 1953, the first national political party to be established in the Bahamas.
Sir Randol Francis Fawkes was a Bahamian politician, trade unionist and lawyer.
Dame Doris Sands Johnson was a Bahamian teacher, suffragette, and politician. She was the first Bahamian woman to contest an election in the Bahamas, the first female Senate appointee, and the first woman granted a leadership role in the Senate. Once in the legislature, she was the first woman to be made a government minister and then was elected as the first woman President of the Senate. She was the first woman to serve as Acting Governor General of the Bahamas, and was honored as Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II.
Advance Together was a British political party. The party was led by Annabel Mullin, a former Liberal Democrat member and parliamentary candidate for Kensington. It was registered with the Electoral Commission on 22 February 2018. Party officials were named as Mullin (leader) and Peter Marshall. It formed an alliance with the Renew Party in late 2018, with Mullin joining the leadership team and for a time becoming leader of Renew.
Sir Kendal George Lamon Isaacs, was a notable Bahamian lawyer and politician. He served as Leader of the Opposition for much of the 1980s.
References
- ↑ Barclays International Review, 1971, p50
- ↑ Dieter Nohlen (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I, pp79-82 ISBN 978-0-19-928357-6
- ↑ Colin A. Hughes (1981) Race and Politics in the Bahamas, p196
| Current parties | |
|---|---|
| Defunct parties | |
 | This Bahamas-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |