03/28/21

History and Politics in The Bahamas

         Hello everyone and welcome back to The Maddy Files! Today we will be talking about the history and politics in The Bahamas. I will be sharing information on their political leaders (past and present), independence wars, and how the island's government is run. This will give any upcoming visitors an idea of how the country operates and how their citizens are being treated. 

     The first topic that I will touch on is the political leaders in The Bahamas; they are referred to as the Prime Minister, unlike the U.S. Hubert Minnis, the Bahamas' new prime minister, is the country's head of government. Minnis, the leader of the ruling Free National Movement (FNM), was sworn in as Prime Minister on May 11, 2017, replacing Perry Christie, the leader of the Radical Liberal Party (PLP). The FNM won the general election in the Bahamas, who serves Elizabeth II, the queen of the Bahamas, appoints the prime minister in a formal ceremony (the Bahamian head of state). Since it is now 2021 and the prime minister has been in office since 2017, I'd say that the citizens of the Bahamas are satisfied with their head of government. 

     The next topic that we will discuss is the independence of the Bahamas. If you are not aware of this information, in the sixteen to seventeen hundreds, the British had taken control of many islands and countries (the Bahamas being one of them). Charles I granted Robert Heath, England's attorney general, territories in America in 1629, including "Bahama and all other Isles and Islands lying southerly there or near upon the foresaid continent." Heath, on the other hand, made no attempt to settle the Bahamas. But the British rule on the island would not last for very long. The Bahamas became a free and independent nation on July 10, 1973, ending 325 years of stable British rule. The Bahamas, on the other hand, is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, and the citizens celebrate Bahamian independence day on July 10th. Although Britain has added some influence to Bahamian culture, the island is much better without their control over their government. 

     The last topic that I will inform you all about is how the Bahamian government is run and its constitution. The Bahamas' constitution, which was adopted in 1973 after the country's independence, is based on the Westminster model, which is used in the United Kingdom. The prime minister must be a member of the House of Assembly and have a majority of the chamber's votes. Members of the House are elected by universal adult suffrage, while senators are appointed by the governor. The term of parliament is five years, however, if the prime minister is unable to maintain a majority in the House or dissolves the House and calls early elections, elections can be held earlier. The Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court, and magistrates' courts have judicial jurisdiction on the islands, with the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in the United Kingdom serving as the final court of appeal. All Bahamian citizens 18 years or older can vote; this means that their government is a democracy. 

     To conclude this blog post, the Bahamas is a safe place to visit because of its fair government, reliable prime minister, and free country. Thank you for reading this week's post on The Maddy Files. I hope to see you all soon!

Sources:

Caribbean Elections - Independence in The Bahamas, www.caribbeanelections.com/education/independence/bs_independence.asp.

“Government and Society.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/place/The-Bahamas/Government-and-society.

“Prime Minister of the Bahamas.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 30 Jan. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_the_Bahamas#:~:text=The%20prime%20minister%20of%20the,(PLP)%20leader%20Perry%20Christie.