September 21, 2021
The government has changed in The Bahamas again. This time it was a landslide reversal of the previous 2017 election where the then Progressive Liberal Party government lost all but four of the 39 seats in parliament.
This time around, the Free National Movement government that won in 2017, lost all but eight of the 39 seats up for grabs.
The only people who would be shocked at the outcome however are people who thought that the former FNM government had any virtue in the sight of God. That and people who don’t think that it couldn’t happen, but it did happen.
Every election since the 2002 election the government has changed, from the FNM to the PLP in 2002, from PLP to FNM in 2007, back to the PLP in 2012 and now back to the PLP in 2021. Clearly the Bahamian people want something else from the two main political parties, but they keep looking inside of those two parties to find it. How sad!
We have hopes for the new government as we did with the former government, hopes that they will help the people of this country. But alas, if history is to repeat itself as it has been doing over the last few election cycles, I give the new government six months before the peanut butter hits the fan and the scandals and political tomfoolery start to happen. Then it will be a free-for-all.
This election was also significant due to the lowest voter turnout in history, with only 65 percent of the registered voters actually showing up to the polls to cast their vote. Prompting former Prime Minister Perry Christie to warn his party to be careful of that development because it represents a protest against the political class in the country. We agree.
However, no third party with any sense and likability has been able to scratch the itch that they have for better political leadership. How unfortunate for them.
As said, we wish the new administration all the best.