Bahamian general election, 2007
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All 41 seats of the Bahamian House of Assembly 21 seats needed for a majority |
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11General 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.
The Bahamas is dominated by two parties: the left of center Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), and the right of center Free National Movement (FNM). The Free National Movement party came to power in the 1992 election, under the leadership of Hubert Ingraham. After winning the 1997 election and having now served 10 years as prime minister, Ingraham announced that he would step down from the FNM before the start of the 2002 election. Tommy Turnquest then took over the party leadership of the FNM, and many voters, including FNM supporters, felt that Turnquest was much “weaker” than the leader of the Progressive Liberal Party, Perry Christie.
The 2002 election saw a PLP victory with Perry Christie becoming prime minister. After their victory, the PLP focussed and worked on improving and attracting foreign investments for the islands as well as further growing the all important tourism sector within the Bahamas. Many were confident that a PLP victory in 2007 was possible as the GDP had grown 4% since they took control of the government in 2002.
During the FNM party's November 2005 convention, Hubert Ingraham was elected leader of the party after he had expressed that he would like to return to the party ahead of the 2007 election. Back under the strong leadership of Ingraham, the FNM party became energized when scandal emerged within the PLP. American celebrity Anna-Nicole Smith was photographed in an embrace with Immigration Minister, Shane Gibson of the PLP. Before photos emerged of the two together, many Bahamians were alarmed when Smith filed for legal residency in the Bahamas in August 2006 and was granted residency just a month later, even though the process sometimes takes years. Allegations also emerged that Gibson had received money and gifts from Smith as well. Shane Gibson finally resigned in February 2007 after the photos of him and Smith were published in a local newspaper.
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