Bahamas: General elections to be held May 10

Event

General elections in the Bahamas will be held on Wednesday, May 10, following the Parliament’s dissolution on April 11. The US Embassy in Nassau has warned of a potential increase in political demonstrations leading up to the elections.

On Wednesday, May 3, an Electoral Observation Mission from the Organization of American States (OAS) began its deployment to monitor the upcoming elections. The observers were invited by the Bahamian government in order to support the legitimacy of the election.

Context

Bahamian citizens who wish to vote in the general election were required to register prior to the dissolution of Parliament. According to local media reports, around 155,000 people had registered as of April 4. In the last general election held in 2012, around 172,000 people were registered to vote.

The OAS previously deployed an observation mission for the 2012 general elections. On Tuesday, May 2, there were allegations of voter fraud in the West Grand Bahama constituency, but such claims have yet to be verified. Two political parties, the Free National Movement (FNM) and the Democratic National Alliance (DNA), claim that there were mistakes made involving duplications and incorrect information during the registration of new voters by the Parliamentary Registrar's Office. The DNA claims that these mistakes are part of a plot by the ruling Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) to rig the election.

Advice

Individuals in the Bahamas are advised to avoid all political demonstrations as a precaution and to keep abreast of the sociopolitical climate.​