Political System

The Queen of the Bahamas

The formal head of the Bahamian government is a woman, Queen Elizabeth II. She appoints a viceregal representative called the Governor-General to carry out her constitutional duties in her absence.

Powers and Responsibilities

In conjunction with the Prime Minister (the leader of the major ruling party), the Governor-General appoints government Ministers ( The role of the Governor-General is not well understood or documented outside of the constitution.

Term Limits: The Governor-General typically ends their term within five years but have no term limits.

Up to table of contents

The House of Assembly

The House of Assembly (HoA) consists of 38 ‘Members of Parliament’ (MPs) who are elected from individual constituencies (neighborhoods). Jump down to the voting section by clicking here to learn more about that process. These 38 MPs are the only elected government positions.

These results implicity decide two other positions:

1. The Prime Minister - the controlling head of the Bahamian government
2. The Leader of the Opposition

While affliation with a political party is not necessary to run for a MP position, the two named positions require it.

The office of Prime Minister is held by the leader of the party which wins a majority of House of Assembly positions (also known as seats). Political parties hold leadership conventions where they elect their party leaders.

The Leader of the Opposition is appointed by the Governor General and is typically the leader of the party which wins the second highest seat count. (This is not always the case as we saw in 2016 when Loretta Butler-Turner was appointed as the Leader of the Opposition while Hubert Minnis was still the leader of the FNM).

Eligibility

The constitution stipulates two requirements for holding a membership position in the House of Assembly:

1. being a citizen of the Bahamas who is 21 years or older
2. residing in the Bahamas for at least one year immediately before the date of nomination for election

• You do not need to reside in the constituency in which you are interested in running.

Powers and Responsibilities

The HoA performs all major legislative functions.

Term Limits: 5 years

Some MPs are also selected as Ministers of one of 17 areas such as education, finance, and foreign affairs. See “Ministries” section below.

Head to the Know Your Politician page to see the current Members of Parliament.

Up to table of contents

Senate

The Senate consists of 16 members called Senators. These Senators are not elected, rather, they are appointed by the Governor-General after consultation with the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition. To decide on the Senator positions, the Governor-General consults:

The Senate has a leadership position called the President of the Senate.

The Senate is meant to operate as a checks-and-balance much like the US system.

Eligibility

The constitution stipulates two requirements for being appointed as a Senator:
1. being a citizen of the Bahamas who is 30 years or older
2. residing in the Bahamas for at least one year immediately before the date of appointment

Powers and Responsibilities

The Senate can pass bills and make bill amendments which must be approved by the House of Assembly. The Senate may reject a bill that has passed the HoA. However, if the House passes the bill in two successive sessions, after Senate refusal, the HoA may send the bill directly to the Governor-General without the Senate’s consent.

Term Limits: 5 years

Up to table of contents

Ministries

There are currently 17 distinct areas of government interest that positioned as official ministries. These are to be led by the sitting Minister along with a Permanent Secretary with some exceptions (a Financial Secretary for the Ministry of Finance and Chief Medical Officer for the Ministry of Health, for example). The current government ministries are:

1. Agriculture, Marine Resources and Local Government
2. Education, Science and Technology
3. Environment and Housing
4. Finance
5. Financial Services
6. Foreign Affairs and Immigration
7. Grand Bahama
8. Health
9. Labour and National Insurance
10. National Security
11. Office of the Attorney General & Ministry of Legal Affairs
12. Public Service
13. Social Services and Community Development
14. Tourism
15. Transport and Aviation
16. Works and Urban Development
17. Youth, Sports and Culture

Up to table of contents

Departments

There are numerous government departments including:

1. Archives
2. Bahamas National Geographic Information Systems (BNGIS) Centre
3. Business License
4. Cooperatives Development
5. Court of Appeal
6. Customs Department
7. Fire Services
8. Forestry Unit
9. HIV-AIDS Center
10. Housing
11. Immigration
12. Internal Audit
13. Labor
14. Marine Resources
15. Meteorology
16. National Anti-Drug Secretariat
17. National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA)
18. Parliamentary Registration Department
19. Port Department
20. Post Office Department
21. Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH)
22. Public Health
23. Public Prosecutions
24. Registrar Generals Department
25. Road Traffic
26. Royal Bahamas Defense Force
27. Royal Bahamas Police Force
28. Royal Bahamas Police Force - Grand Bahama
29. Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre
30. Social Services
31. Statistics
32. Supreme Court
33. Treasury Department
34. VAT Bahamas

Up to table of contents

Corporations & Agencies

There are also numerous government corporations and statutory agencies including:

1. 19CCEM Conference Secretariat
2. Auditor General
3. Bahamas ACP Secretariat
4. Bahamas Agricultural & Industrial Corporation (BAIC)
5. Bahamas Bureau of Standards and Quality (BBSQ)
6. Bahamas Development Bank
7. Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC)
8. Bahamas Environment Science and Technology Commission (BEST)
9. Bahamas Investment Authority
10. Bahamas Maritime Authority
11. Bahamas Trade Commission
12. Bahamasair Holding Ltd
13. Bank of The Bahamas
14. Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas
15. Cellular Liberalization Task Force
16. Central Bank of The Bahamas
17. Compliance Commission
18. Data Protection Commissioner
19. Financial Intelligence Unit
20. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)
21. Hotel Corporation of The Bahamas
22. Maritime Matters
23. Nassau Flight Services
24. National Insurance Board (NIB)
25. Public Hospitals Authority (PHA)
26. Securities Commission of The Bahamas
27. The Bahamas Telecommunications Company Ltd (BTC)
28. University of The Bahamas (UB)
29. Utilities Regulation & Competition Authority (URCA)
30. Water & Sewerage Corporation

Up to table of contents

Voting

The only elected positions in the Bahamian government are the 38 Members of Parliament.

The 38 MPs correspond to 38 individual constituencies and citizens may only vote in their residential constituency.

“…The current legal framework does not grant the electoral management body supervision of campaign finance, nor does it delegate this function to other public entities. In fact, political campaigns are fully funded from private sources. Campaign financing is currently unregulated and political parties are not required to report on the flows or administration of their campaign funds.” State of the Nation Report, page 32 This has led to serious allegations of corruption in the past. Campaign financing can decide elections and reveal conflicts of interest.

Eligibility

To vote you must:

1. be a citizen of the Bahamas who is 18 years or older
2. residing in the Bahamas for at least one year immediately before the date of appointment

Up to table of contents

Constituencies

There are currently 39 constituencies, 24 on Nassau and 15 on the family islands.

• Mayaguana, Inagua (Great & Little), Crooked Island, Acklins, and Long Cay

Up to table of contents