Bahamas » Politics

The political system is based on the British parliamentary system. The Parliament comprises the House of Assembly and the Senate. Members of the House are elected directly every five years. The Governor Generals appoint the Senators. The major number of senators is proposed by the prime minister, the opposition leader proposes 1/4 of the members, and the left behind members are selected on the recommendation of the prime minister after discussing with the leader of the opposition.

The prime minister is the head of the Executive Branch of government. A Cabinet of at least 8 other ministers, one of them being the attorney general is controlled by the Prime Minister.

Historical Government

The government had been under the control of the Prime Minister Hubert A. Ingraham of Free National Movement (FNM), since 1992. Perry G led the opposition party of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP).

In the March 1997 general elections, the FNM amongst the 40-member House of Assembly held 34 seats, with the other 6 held by the PLP.

On May 3, 2002, Perry Christie, a barrister at law, was appointed prime minister after his Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) won the general election.

Current Status

A parliamentary system of government is followed in The Bahamas in which the Governor General represents the professed head of state, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth. The office has been in the custody of The Honourable Arthur D Hanna as the Governor-General since 1996.

In the elections held on 2 May 2007 the opposition Free National Movement (FNM) was led by the earlier Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham claiming victory over the ruling Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) and their leader Prime Minister Perry Christie. The FNM won 23 seats in opposition to PLP having 18 seats. In the preceding election, 2002, the FNM had won just 7 seats compared to the 29 seats for the PLP with 4 seats going to independent nominees.