Continuing from last year when there were 12 general elections in the Caribbean Community (Caricom) bloc, the Bahamas and Antigua will vote in the coming weeks, following Barbados, which returned the incumbent labor party by a landslide in early February.
Last week, Antiguan Governor General Sir Rodney Williams signed a proclamation dissolving the federation with Barbuda’s parliament. The dissolution of the 17-member house is usually the first major step before elections in the region, but Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne has held off naming a date when islanders will actually vote because he, allegedly, wants to give the main opposition yet struggling United Progressive Party (UPP) enough time to properly organize its campaign.
“I believe in mercy,” Browne told lawmakers in parliament, while boasting that his labor party (the ABLP) will easily be returned to office. “The members on the other side will not get more than an additional week,” he said, hinting that a date could be named in late April or early May.
General elections in that eastern Caribbean nation are not constitutionally due until 2028 but, like Prime Minister Mia Mottley in nearby Barbados, Browne and his party are clearly plotting to capitalize on internal wrangling in the UPP to win votes.
Foto: Alan Santos/PR Credit: (Palácio do Planalto from Brasilia, Brasil / commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Philip_"Brave"_Davis_(profile).jpg)
Incidentally, Mottley’s labor party (The BLP) won all 30 parliamentary seats for the third time, decimating its main opposition rivals as it struggled with high- profile defections and leadership issues.
In the far north of the bloc, Bahamian Prime Minister Phillip Davis announced in the past week that he had asked the governor general to dissolve the 39-member house on April 8, before election day on May 12.
The contest will pit the governing Progressive Labor Party (PLP) of Davis against the Free National Movement (FNM) of opposition leader and former cabinet minister Michael Pintard.
The PLP is headed to the polls with 32 of the 39 seats that it had won in the 2021 general elections, but it has been beset by opposition charges that it has not achieved very much in office and has been slow to help parts of the archipelago recover from superstorm Dorian back in 2019, during the time of the FNM administration.
As both parties rally electors to register to vote, the FNM has itself been hurt by a few high-profile crossovers to the PLP and the refusal of former prime minister Hubert Minnis to step aside for a party-endorsed candidate in his constituency. Minnis has even vowed to run as an independent candidate. Davis has said he is confident of victory, but is reminding voters that turnout is important.
“Today, I wish to advise the Bahamian people of the key dates in the next phase of our democratic process, our general election,” Davis said in a national address. “I also wish to remind the public that if you currently hold a valid purple voter’s card, your registration remains valid and there is no need to register again. The law provides that if you are on the current register of voters, you are entitled to vote.” His remarks were partly in response to local media reports of protracted waits for registration at many centers.
As usual in elections in the Bahamas, most of the 39 candidates are millionaires based on declarations to the integrity commission, including ex-PM Minnis, who says he is worth more than $13 million in cash and assets.
The Caricom nation has been enjoying tremendous growth in and rebound of the lifeline tourism sector, which had taken a major hit during the Covid pandemic about five years ago. The country played host to 12.5 million visitors last year, representing a near 12 percent increase in both long stay and cruise ship tourism over the previous year.
Davis had said that campaigning for the elections would have been muted during the Lenten season, but he has cleared the way for the race to kick off in earnest.
“As we move through this election season, I ask every Bahamian to remember one simple truth: Wherever we may fall politically, we all love this country,” he said. “Long after the campaign is over, we will still be one people, sharing one home, with one future to build together. I encourage every eligible Bahamian to take part in this process with seriousness, respect, and faith in our democracy.”