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, 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.
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, led by Sir Cecil Wallace Whitfield. The former leader of the party is [Hubert A Minnis] 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.
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 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.
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.
Theodore Brent Symonette is a Bahamian businessman and Free National Movement politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for St. Anne's from 2007 to 2012 and 2017 to 2021. In his first term, he served as Deputy Prime Minister to Hubert Ingraham and Minister of Foreign Affairs. In his second, he was the Minister of Financial Services, Trade and Industry and Immigration from 2017 to 2019.
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 90.2%.
Philip Edward "Brave" Davis is a Bahamian politician serving as the Prime Minister of the Bahamas since 2021. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Cat Island, Rum Cay & San Salvador since May 2002.
Frederick Audley Mitchell Jr. is a Bahamian Progressive Liberal Party politician serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs for the third time. He is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Fox Hill, first elected in 2002 and then again in 2021. He also served two terms in the Senate.
Orville Alton Thompson "Tommy" Turnquest, CBE is a Bahamian politician.
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.
William "Bill" Cartwright was a Bahamian politician, realtor and magazine publisher. Cartwright, together with Sir Henry Milton Taylor and Cyril Stevenson, co-founded the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) in 1953, the first national political party to be established in the Bahamas. He was the last surviving member of the PLP's three founders.
Hubert Alexander Minnis, ON is a Bahamian politician and doctor who served as Prime Minister of the Bahamas from May 2017 to 16 September 2021. Minnis is the leader of the Free National Movement, the former governing party, and the Member of Parliament for the New Providence constituency of Killarney. First elected to the legislature in the 2007 election, he succeeded Hubert Ingraham as party leader following the party's defeat in the 2012 election.
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 Commonwealth of The Bahamas, on 24 October 2017. She succeeded Christopher Mortimer, who was appointed as Interim Leader of the DNA on 24 October 2017. Mortimer was appointed Interim Leader following the DNA's defeat in The Bahamas' General Elections on 10 May 2017, when the Party failed to win a parliamentary seat out of the 39 possible parliamentary seats in the House of Assembly. Founder and inaugural leader of the DNA, Branville McCartney announced his intention to resign from the Party and front-line politics following the defeat. Komolafe is the first female leader of the DNA political party and other females such as Cynthia Pratt, former Deputy Leader of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) and Loretta Butler-Turner, former Deputy Leader of the Free National Movement.
General elections were held in the Bahamas on 16 September 2021 to elect all 38 members of the House of Assembly.
JoBeth Lillian Coleby-Davis is a Bahamian Progressive Liberal Party politician and attorney who has been the Bahamian Minister of Housing and Transport since 23 September 2021 and the Member of Parliament (MP) for Elizabeth since 6 October 2021. Coleby-Davis defeated the FNM incumbent Duane Sands in the 2021 general election. She previously served in the Senate from 2017 to 2021.
Pia T. Glover-Rolle is a Bahamian Progressive Liberal Party politician, entrepreneur, and philanthropist who has been serving as the Bahamian Minister of State for Public Service since 23 September 2021 and the Member of Parliament from Golden Gates. Glover Rolle defeated FNM incumbent Michael Foulkes in the 2021 general election.
