The United Bahamian Party (UBP) was a major

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or po ...

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 North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the archi ...

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.

Dieter Nohlen Dieter Nohlen (born 6 November 1939) is a German academic and political scientist. He currently holds the position of Emeritus Professor of Political Science in the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences of the University of Heidelberg. An expe ...

(2005), ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I'', p. 73. It was led by

Roland Theodore Symonette Sir Roland Theodore Symonette, NH (16 December 1898 – 13 March 1980) 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 ...

History

It was established in 1956 as the Christian Democratic Party to oppose the black-dominated

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 T ...

, which had emerged as the largest party in the 1956 elections with six seats, although 22 MPs had been elected as independents. Following the 1958 general strike, it was renamed the United Bahamian Party.Plural Political Parties in the Bahamas - Pt. 2
''The Nassau Guardian'',7 December 2015 Despite receiving fewer votes than the black-dominated

(PLP), the UBP won the 1962 general elections,Nohlen, pp81–82 largely as a result of

gerrymandering In representative democracies, gerrymandering (, originally ) is the political manipulation of electoral district boundaries with the intent to create undue advantage for a party, group, or socioeconomic class within the constituency. The m ...

. However, the 1967 elections saw a reversal in fortunes as the UBP received more votes, but won the same number of seats as the PLP. The PLP formed a government with the support of the sole Labour Party MP. Following the election the UBP accused the PLP of gerrymandering. In early elections the following year, support for the UBP slumped and it won only seven of the 38 seats. In 1971 it merged with the Free Progressive Liberal Party, a breakaway from the ruling party, to form the

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 t ...

Electoral performance

References

{{Bahamian political parties 1956 establishments in the Bahamas 1971 disestablishments in the Bahamas Defunct political parties in the Bahamas European Bahamian Political parties established in 1956 Political parties disestablished in 1971 Racism in the Caribbean White nationalism in North America White nationalist parties