2002 Bahamian general election

General elections were held in the Bahamas on 2 May 2002. The opposition Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) won 29 of the 40 seats in the House of Assembly to defeat the governing Free National Movement (FNM). Voter turnout was 90%.Dieter Nohlen (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I, p82

Background In the 1992 election the Free National Movement came to power after defeating the then governing Progressive Liberal Party. Their leader Hubert Ingraham served as prime minister from 1992 until he announced his intention to step down as prime minister at the 2002 general election. Tommy Turnquest was then narrowly elected as the next leader of the FNM and would be the party's candidate for prime minister at the election.

The FNM government suffered a setback in February 2002 when an attempt to amend the constitution was rejected in a referendum. The referendum had been contested between the two main parties after the PLP reversed their earlier support and campaigned against the changes.

Campaign A record 132 candidates stood in the election for the 40 seats in the House of Assembly that were being contested. These were from 4 political parties and included 40 from the governing FNM and 37 from the opposition PLP. As well as the candidates from political parties there were also 14 independents.

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. Their new leader Tommy Turnquest pledged to continue as they had been doing under Hubert Ingraham. However the opposition PLP criticised the FNM as being out of touch and attacked them for being too quick to comply with the OECD's Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering. The PLP said that they would help the less well off and develop islands they said had been neglected by the FNM.

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. Meanwhile, the PLP accused the FNM's Tommy Turnquest of corruption over the awarding of government contracts. Despite the harsh campaign, outside commentators expected little change in policies whichever party was successful in the election.

There was no trouble on election day, with schools and liquor stores being closed and polling stations seeing a high turnout.

Results The results saw the PLP win over half of the vote and 29 of the seats in the House of Assembly. The FNM conceded defeat, with their leader Tommy Turnquest being one of several cabinet ministers to lose their seats. The leader of the PLP, Perry Christie, became the new prime minister of the Bahamas on 3 May 2002.

Elected MPs Number Name Party Island (area) ConstituencyEthnicity 1 Frank Smith Progressive Liberal Party New Providence EastSt. Thomas MoreBlack 2 Pierre Dupuch Independent New Providence EastSt. MargaretWhite 3 Brent Symonette Free National Movement New Providence EastMontaguWhite 4 Fred Mitchell Progressive Liberal Party New Providence EastFox HillBlack 5 Melanie Griffin Progressive Liberal Party New Providence EastYamacrawBlack 6 Malcolm Adderley Progressive Liberal Party New Providence EastElizabethBlack 7 Sidney Stubbs Progressive Liberal Party New Providence EastHoly CrossBlack 8 Alfred Sears Progressive Liberal Party New Providence WestFort CharlotteBlack 9 Neville Wisdom Progressive Liberal Party New Providence WestDelaporteBlack 10 John Carey Progressive Liberal Party New Providence WestCarmichaelBlack 11 Micheal Halkitis Progressive Liberal Party New Providence WestAdelaideBlack 12 Leslie Miller Progressive Liberal Party New Providence WestBlue HillsBlack 13 Keod Smith Progressive Liberal Party New Providence WestMount MoriahBlack 14 Bradley Roberts Progressive Liberal Party New Providence SouthBain Town and Grants TownBlack 15 Perry Christie Progressive Liberal Party New Providence SouthFarm RoadBlack 16 Cynthia A. Pratt Progressive Liberal Party New Providence SouthSt. CeciliaBlack 17 Glennys Hanna-Martin Progressive Liberal Party New Providence SouthEnglerstonBlack 18 Ron Pinder Progressive Liberal Party New Providence SouthMarathonBlack 19 Veronica Owens Progressive Liberal Party New Providence SouthGarden HillsBlack 20 Shane Gibson Progressive Liberal Party New Providence SouthGolden GatesBlack 21 Tennyson Wells Independent New Providence SouthBamboo TownBlack 22 Kenyatta Gibson Progressive Liberal Party New Providence SouthKennedyBlack 23 Allyson Gibson Progressive Liberal Party New Providence SouthPinewoodBlack 24 Agatha Marchelle Progressive Liberal Party New Providence SouthSouth BeachBlack 25 Obie Wilchcombe Progressive Liberal Party Grand BahamaWest End and BiminiBlack 26 Ann Perecentie Progressive Liberal Party Grand BahamaPineridgeBlack 27 Kenneth Russell Free National Movement Grand BahamaHigh RockBlack 28 Lindy Russell Free National Movement Grand BahamaEight Mile RockBlack 29 Neko Grant Free National Movement Grand BahamaLucayaBlack 30 Pleasant Bridgewater Progressive Liberal Party Grand BahamaMarco CityBlack 31 Vincent Peet Progressive Liberal Party AndrosNorth Andros and Berry IslandsBlack 32 Whitney Bastian Independent AndrosMangrove Cay and South AndrosBlack 33 Hubert Ingraham Free National Movement AbacoNorth AbacoBlack 34 Robert Sweeting Free National Movement AbacoSouth AbacoWhite 35 Alvin Smith Free National Movement EleutheraNorth Eleuthera, Spanish Wells and Harbour IslandBlack 36 Oswald Ingram Progressive Liberal Party EleutheraSouth EleutheraBlack 37 Philip Davis Progressive Liberal Party Cat IslandCat Island, Rum Cay & San SalvadorBlack 38 Anthony Moss Progressive Liberal Party ExumaRollevilleBlack 39 Larry Cartwright Independent Long IslandLong and Ragged IslandWhite 40 Alfred Gray Progressive Liberal Party Mayaguana, Inagua, Crooked, Acklins, & Long Cay Islands MICALBlack Source: bahamasb2b.com

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