General elections were held in

the Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

on 16 September 2021 to elect all 38 members of the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible governme ...

. Around two hours after the polls closed, and results started to trickle in, Prime Minister

Hubert Minnis Hubert Alexander Minnis, ON (born 16 April 1954) 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, ...

conceded defeat, after results showed his party

Free National Movement The Free National Movement (abbreviated FNM) 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 ...

losing several seats they previously held. Since 1997, every election has resulted in a change of government. On 17 September Philip Davis of the

Progressive Liberal Party The Progressive Liberal Party (abbreviated PLP) is a populist and social liberal party in the Bahamas. Philip Davis is the leader of the party. History The PLP was founded in 1953 by William Cartwright, Cyril Stevenson, and Henry Milton Tay ...

was sworn in as prime minister.

Background

The Bahamas has been affected by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. Biometric cards are expected to be used. In January 2021, it was reported that the PLP was expecting an early election. At dissolution, the FNM was down four seats on their 2017 result; House Speaker Halson Moultrie, Reece Chipman, and Frederick McAlpine left the party to sit and run for re-election as independents, whilst Vaughn Miller defected to the PLP.

Electoral system

Members of the House of Assembly are elected from single-member constituencies using

first-past-the-post voting In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...

. The majority party then selects the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

, who is appointed by the

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

Candidates

On 3 February, the

revealed their first 18 candidates. On 21 June 2021, they selected the rest of their candidates for the election. The

completed ratifying candidates by July 2021. The Democratic National Alliance posted a slate of 19 candidates in March 2021. New parties include

Coalition of Independents Political parties in the Bahamas may be "classified", "nonclassified", or "unclassified". Classified parties are "major" or "minor" depending on electoral performance and competitive ability. Parties represented in Parliament Classification of ...

, formed by members of Bahamian Evolution, and the

Grand Commonwealth Party Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and c ...

. House Speaker Moultrie formed an electoral alliance of independent and third party candidates.

Preliminary results

The elections were observed by several teams including the

Caribbean Community The Caribbean Community (CARICOM or CC) is an intergovernmental organization that is a political and economic union of 15 member states (14 nation-states and one dependency) throughout the Caribbean. They have primary objectives to promote econom ...

, the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

and the

Organisation of American States The Organization of American States (OAS; es, Organización de los Estados Americanos, pt, Organização dos Estados Americanos, french: Organisation des États américains; ''OEA'') is an international organization that was founded on 30 April ...

Seat that changed hands

Free National to Progressive Liberal

* Bain Town and Grants Town: won by Wayde Watson * Bamboo Town: won by

Patricia Deveaux Patricia Ann Deveaux (born 1968) is a Bahamian Progressive Liberal Party politician serving as Speaker of the House of Assembly and the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bamboo Town. She is the second woman to hold the position of Speaker after Ita ...

* Carmichael * Central and South Abaco * Central and South Eleuthera * Centreville * Elizabeth: won by

JoBeth Coleby-Davis JoBeth Lillian Coleby-Davis (born 17 July 1984) 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 s ...

* Fort Charlotte * Fox Hill: won by Fred Mitchell * Freetown: * Garden Hills * Golden Gates: won by

Pia Glover-Rolle Pia T. Glover-Rolle (born 18 April 1977) 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 Parli ...

* Golden Isles * Marathon: won by

Lisa Rahming Lisa Tammy Rahming is a Bahamian Progressive Liberal Party politician, and attorney who has been serving as the Bahamian Minister of State for Social Services and Urban Development since 23 September 2021 and the Member of Parliament A member o ...

* MICAL * Mount Moriah * Nassau Village * North Abaco * North Andros and Berry Islands * North Eleuthera * Pineridge * Pinewood * Sea Breeze * South Beach * Southern Shores * Tall Pines * Yamacraw

Aftermath

: In a concession speech released by the FNM, outgoing prime minister

thanked Bahamians for the last four years. “Tonight I spoke with Leader of the Progressive Liberal Party Philip Davis and offered my congratulations to him and his party on their victory at the polls. I offered him my best wishes as his Government now faces the continued fight against COVID-19, and the restoration of our economy. I would like to thank the tens of thousands of Bahamians from across The Bahamas who voted for Free National Movement candidates. I also congratulate the FNM candidates who won seats in the House of Assembly. I am in that number, and again my gratitude goes out to the people of Killarney for making me their representative for the fourth consecutive time. I will lead the Free National Movement into the House as the leader of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition. The Bahamas has a proud democratic tradition. The people decide who serves as government."

: Philip Davis expected to become the next prime minister addressed supporters in Cat Island. He told his constituents they've been through so much together. “Thank you for seeing the possibilities of what we can build together for our children and grandchildren, in the morning, we will rise as one nation and meet the challenges ahead. On 17 September, Philip Davis was sworn in as Prime Minister.

References

{{Bahamian elections Elections in the Bahamas

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

2021 in the Bahamas Election and referendum articles with incomplete results