Parliamentary constitutional monarchy
As a member of the Commonwealth, The Bahamas is a constititutional monarchy with the queen (Elizabeth II) as head of state who is locally represented by the governor-general (Sir Cornelius A. Smith). Having been a British colony in the past, political and legal traditions follow the Westminster system of England.
Branches of government
The executive branch consists of the prime minister (Philip Davis) and the by him appointed Cabinet Ministers. As head of government, he leads the party winning the most seats in the House of Assembly in the every five year general elections.
The legislative branch contains a bicameral system consisting of the House of Assembly and the Senate. While the 39 members of the House of Assembly are elected by the people, the 16-member Senate is appointed.
The supreme court as main part of the judiciary branch is based on English law and serves to protect the constitution and all common civil rights.
Political culture
The Bahamas has a two-party-system that contains of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) and the Free National Movement (FNM).
The PLP, founded in 1953, is a social liberal and populist party.
The Progressive Liberal Party is committed to nation building; championing the
PLP on “Who are we?”
cause of a people who dream, who desire, who are determined to better the
lives of the generations that follow.
The ideology of the FNM, founded in 1971, is described as conservative liberalism and was a fusion of multiple politics.
It’s about your future!
Slogan FNM
Foreign relations
The Bahamas is part of the Caribbean Community that consists of 25 rather small but very diverse countries.
“CARICOM promotes and supports a unified Caribbean Community that is inclusive, resilient, competitive; sharing in economic, social and cultural prosperity”.
Moreover, it has strong bilateral relations with the United Kingdom and the United States.
General election 2021
As you can see, the results of the recent general election on 16 September, 2021 show a clear success for the Progressive Liberal Party. This is also due to the first-past-the-post system, since this leads to smaller parties having low chances to win a seat in one constituency.
Recent political struggles
Swipe left and right to see the huge differences between the touristic dream of beautiful beaches and recent challenges like climate change and the pandemic that strongly affect The Bahamas.