The Bahamas is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy headed by King Charles III in his role as King 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. King Charles III 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, KCMG,PC,NH,JP was a Bahamian politician who is regarded by some as the "Father of the Nation",having led the Bahamas to majority rule and independence.
Perry Gladstone Christie PC,MP is a Bahamian former politician who served as prime minister of the Bahamas from 2002 to 2007 and from 2012 to 2017. He is the second longest-serving Bahamian elected parliamentarian,representing the Centreville constituency from 1977 to 2017. He is also a former athlete. His Progressive Liberal Party is the oldest Bahamian political party,holding solid majorities in the Bahamian Parliament several times in its long history.
The Free National Movement is a political party in the Bahamas formed in the early 1970s and led by Sir Cecil Wallace-Whitfield. The current leader of the party is Michael Pintard and the current deputy leader is Shanendon Cartwright.
Hubert Alexander Ingraham,PC 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 member of Parliament for the North Abaco constituency. He served as leader of the opposition in the House of Assembly of the Bahamas from 2005 to 2007.
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. The electorate is less than half of citizenry.
General elections were held in the Bahamas on 2 May 2007. The result was an opposition victory,with the Free National Movement,led by former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham,claiming 23 of the 41 seats. Incumbent Prime Minister Perry Christie conceded defeat in a phone call to his rival. Ingraham was sworn into the office of Prime Minister on 4 May.
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%.
General elections were held in the Bahamas on 7 May 2012. They were the first general election in which a third party offered a full slate of candidates alongside the two major parties,the Free National Movement and the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP). The result was a victory for the opposition PLP,whose leader Perry Christie became prime minister.
Frank Howard Watson is a Bahamian civil servant and politician from Free National Movement.
Sir Clement T. Maynard,,was a Deputy Prime Minister of the Bahamas (1985–92),and deputy leader of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP). His public career ran the gamut from trade unionist to Senator to Member of Parliament.
Loretta Butler-Turner is a Bahamian mortician and politician. She was the leader of the opposition in the Bahamian Parliament from December 2016 to May 2017.
General elections were held in the Bahamas on 10 May 2017. The elected members of the House of Assembly then elected the Prime Minister.
Arinthia Santina Komolafe is a Bahamian politician who was elected the Leader of the Democratic National Alliance (DNA),one of the three main political parties in the Bahamas,on 24 October 2017.
Dionisio James D'Aguilar is a Bahamian Free National Movement (FNM) politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Freetown and Minister of Tourism and Aviation from 2017 to 2021. Before getting involved in politics,he was a well-known businessman who served on the board of directors for multiple companies.
General elections were held in the Bahamas on 16 September 2021 to elect all 38 members of the House of Assembly.
Keith Ricardo Bell is a Bahamian Progressive Liberal Party politician as the Minister of Housing and Urban Renewal since 2023. He is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Carmichael constituency since 2021.
Alfred Michael Sears is a Bahamian Progressive Liberal Party politician,lawyer,and educator serving as the Minister of Immigration and National Insurance since 2023. He also serves as the Member of Parliament for Fort Charlotte,a position he has held since 2021.
Katherine Forbes-Smith is Bahamian lawyer and politician and former President of the Senate of the Bahamas.
Sir Cecil Vincent Wallace Whitfield was a Bahamian politician who was a founding member and the first leader of the Free National Movement political party. He also served as a Minister in the cabinet of Lynden Pindling from 1967 to 1970 and as a longtime member of the Bahamian Parliament.
