2002 Bahamian general election
Politics of The Bahamas |
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 Caribbean portal |
General elections were held in the
Background
In the
The FNM government suffered a setback in February 2002 when an attempt to amend the constitution was rejected in a referendum.[3] The referendum had been contested between the two main parties after the PLP reversed their earlier support and campaigned against the changes.[2][3]
Campaign
A record 132 candidates stood in the election for the 40 seats in the House of Assembly that were being contested.
The FNM defended their time in government, pointing to the strong economic growth over the period and the large amount of foreign investment that had come into the Bahamas.
Both parties made fierce attacks on each other with the FNM reminding voters of the scandals over drug money that had led to the PLP losing power back in 1992.[4] Meanwhile, the PLP accused the FNM's Tommy Turnquest of corruption over the awarding of government contracts.[4] Despite the harsh campaign, outside commentators expected little change in policies whichever party was successful in the election.[2]
There was no trouble on election day, with schools and liquor stores being closed and polling stations seeing a high turnout.[4][6]
Results
The results saw the PLP win over half of the vote and 29 of the seats in the House of Assembly.[5] The FNM conceded defeat, with their leader Tommy Turnquest being one of several cabinet ministers to lose their seats.[4][5][7] The leader of the PLP, Perry Christie, became the new Prime Minister of the Bahamas on 3 May 2002.[4][5]
 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |
| Progressive Liberal Party | 66,897 | 51.78 | 29 | +24 | |
| Free National Movement | 52,803 | 40.87 | 7 | −28 | |
| Coalition + Labour | 2,793 | 2.16 | 0 | New | |
| Bahamas Democratic Movement | 414 | 0.32 | 0 | New | |
| Bahamas Constitution Party | 12 | 0.01 | 0 | New | |
| Our Survivors | 10 | 0.01 | 0 | New | |
| Independents | 6,272 | 4.85 | 4 | +4 | |
| Total | 129,201 | 100.00 | 40 | 0 | |
| Valid votes | 129,201 | 98.97 | |||
| Invalid/blank votes | 1,344 | 1.03 | |||
| Total votes | 130,545 | 100.00 | |||
| Registered voters/turnout | 144,758 | 90.18 | |||
| Source: Caribbean Elections | |||||
Elected MPs
References
- ISBN 978-0-19-928357-6
- ^ a b c d "Bahamas victor will face depressed economy". Financial Times. 1 May 2002. p. 8.
- ^ a b c d e "The Americas: Simmering discontents; The Bahamas". The Economist. 9 March 2002. p. 62.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Bahamas: parliamentary elections House of Assembly, 2002". Inter-Parliamentary Union.
- ^ a b c d "Bahamas gets a new premier". Financial Times. 4 May 2002. p. 2.
- The Blade. 3 May 2002. p. 25.
- The Blade. 3 May 2002. p. 2.
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