Bahamas announces general election eight months before the due date

The Bahamas declared elections eight months before the due date. The country will go into general elections on September 16, 2021. Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said that whoever wins must make important decisions in the fight against the pandemic. Governor-General Cornelius Smith released a proclamation ordering the dissolve of the parliament.

Discussing the snap elections, Prime Minister Minnis said it is the right time for the public to choose who will lead the upcoming Bahamian government.

The current term does not end constitutionally until May 2022, five years after the Minnis' Free National Movement (FNM) won over the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) in the previous election and won 35 of the 39 seats in parliament.

The prime minister stated the election comes between "the worst public health crisis in our modern history", referring to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Even though the Bahamas is an independent country, the British Monarch acting as the head of state still appoints the governor-general representative in the archipelago. While the executive power is handled under the leadership of a Prime minister, and the overall legislature is exercised by a two-chamber parliament.

He said his administration has so far secured more than 550,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccines. "Our goal is to make the Bahamas one of the most vaccinated small islands of the developing world in the world," he said.

"It is time for the people to choose who they want to lead if we vaccinate in the direction of all Bahamians," he stressed.

Prime Minister Minnis said the next government would have to make essential decisions on implementing post-pandemic public health and economic growth. "A new mandate is needed to ensure that there is a government to do this difficult long-term work because we are reaching a critical inflation point in the pandemic," he stressed.

With the election date now set, Minnis called on the Bahamians to ensure that the country continues its long and proud tradition of peaceful elections.

"We must discuss issues strictly and peacefully, contrasting our different visions for the country. In our democratic tradition, the people rule. Their collective wisdom will decide our way forward; their collective wisdom will decide our common future," he said.

Prime Minister Minnis further urged political parties to conduct their campaigns in accordance with public health guidelines to ensure that there is no increase in the prevalence of Covid-19 cases.