Elections in Bahamas

Elections in the Bahamas take place in the framework of a parliamentary democracy. Since independence voter turnout has been generally high in national elections, with a low of 87.9% in 1987 and a high of 98.5% in 1997. The current Prime Minister is the Hon. Hubert Alexander Minnis.

The country's electoral law was passed on 31 December 1969 and was last amended in 1992. Elections are run by the Parliamentary Registration Department, headed by a Parliamentary Commissioner. Appointed by the Governor-General, the Commissioner is responsible for voter registration. There is also an Electoral Broadcasting Council, which is responsible for ensuring that media reports are fair and not biased towards any party.

The country has a bicameral Parliament with a House of Assembly and Senate.

The House of Assembly has 38 elected members who are elected in single-member constituencies. Elections for the House are held every five years.

Voters must be aged 18 or over, hold Bahamian citizenship and lived for three months in the constituency. They can disqualified if insane, imprisoned or under a death sentence. Until 1972 British citizens could also vote if they had been resident for six months.

Candidates must be at least 21 years old, citizens of the country, and have lived in the country for at least a year prior to the elections. Those with dual citizenship or an undischarged bankruptry are ineligible, as are those who have a criminal conviction, a history of electoral fraud, or are insane or under a death sentence.

The Senate is unelected and consists of 16 members appointed by the Governor-General; nine on the advice of the Prime Minister, four on the advice of the leader of the opposition, and three on the advice of the Prime Minister after consultations with the leader of the opposition.

There have been two national referendums and one opinion poll held within the last twenty years. The first, held in 2002, it asked voters five questions ranging from changes to the constitution to the setting up of a national commission on teaching. The first opinion poll, held in January 2013, asked individuals whether they wanted to legalize online gambling. The second national referendum took place on June 7th, 2016, and asked voters four questions pertaining to equal rights within the Bahamas. All three (3) referendum's/opinion polls were rejected.

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