Bahamas re-elects Progressive Liberal party’s Philip Davis as prime minister

The Bahamas prime minister, Philip Davis, and his ruling Progressive Liberal party (PLP) have been re-elected, making him the country’s first leader to serve a second consecutive term in nearly 30 years.

“The Bahamian people have spoken, and I receive their verdict with humility and gratitude,” Davis told Reuters.

“This victory is a mandate to keep moving the Bahamas forward, to expand opportunity, strengthen security, ease the pressure on families, and deliver progress across our islands.”

A poll was not due to be called until October, but Davis decided to call an early election to get ahead of the upcoming Atlantic hurricane season, an official in his office said.

The 2021 election, which resulted in Davis’ ascension to prime minister, was also called early. That September 2021 election was the first time in nearly 25 years that Bahamian voters headed to the polls in a month other than May.

Davis’s party was on track to win more than 30 of the 41 seats in the Bahamian parliament. It had previously held 32 of the 39 seats in the Bahamian House of Assembly, the lower chamber of the country’s parliament, before the archipelago’s constituencies commission – an independent body responsible for reviewing and adjusting constituency boundaries ahead of general elections – recommended the creation of two new constituencies.

The PLP won both of the new seats created.

The Free National Movement (FNM), now in its second term out of office, was on track to win only eight seats during the election, according to the opposition leader, Michael Pintard. Both the chair and deputy leader of the opposition party were defeated at the polls.

Rick Fox, a three-time NBA champion who contested the election as the FNM’s candidate for the Garden Hills constituency, was among those who lost their races. He was defeated by the incumbent, Mario Bowleg, who served as the minister responsible for youth, sports and culture during Davis’s first administration.

“King Kong ain’t got nothing on me,” Bowleg said after the results were announced.

Fox did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The PLP deputy leader, Chester Cooper, who is expected to continue serving as deputy prime minister, and Pintard, who has served as leader of the opposition since 2021, were among those re-elected to parliament.

Hubert Minnis, who served as Bahamian prime minister until he was defeated by Davis in 2021, failed to win a seat that he held for nearly 20 years after he launched an independent bid after the FNM’s refusal to ratify him. The seat was won by FNM’s Michela Barnett-Ellis.