The Caribbean nation of the Bahamas will conduct an early general election on May 12, Prime Minister Philip Davis announced Wednesday, as the island country confronts significant affordability challenges for its residents.
Davis revealed his decision on the same day his administration eliminated value-added taxes on basic grocery items, a move designed to address living expenses that rank as the sixth most expensive globally according to data from Numbeo.
The prime minister plans to dissolve the current parliament on April 8 and officially announce the election campaign the next day. The vote was originally scheduled for mid-October.
“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,” Davis stated.
Davis and his Progressive Liberal Party defeated the ruling Free National Movement during the previous election in September 2021.
The upcoming May contest will primarily feature competition between these two dominant political organizations, the PLP and FNM, although the Coalition of Independents, a smaller third party that has gained recent visibility, will also participate.
Throughout the Bahamas’ history as an independent nation, no third-party candidate has ever won the position of prime minister, and the last successful reelection of an incumbent prime minister occurred in 1997.
