By: Staff Writer
May 12, 2026
Bahamians went to the polls for a snap general election today as political parties across the country made final appeals and now leaving it up to the voters.
Prime Minister Philip Davis of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) is seeking his second term since coming to office in September of 2021. No government has had successive terms in office since the Free National Movement (FNM) government led by former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham who won the 1992 and 1997 general elections, almost 30 years ago.
The FNM is led by Michael Pintard. Polls opened across the archipelago at 8am as voters weigh concerns about affordability and housing against the government’s record.
While third parties have historically struggled to gain parliamentary seats in the Bahamas, political observers are closely watching whether the Coalition of Independents (COI), led by Lincoln Bain, which has a strong social media presence, can build on the nearly 8,000 votes it secured in the 2021 election.
The election, which was not due until October, was called early by Davis. An official in his office stated the decision was made to hold the vote to get ahead of the upcoming Atlantic hurricane season. The previous election in September 2021, which brought Davis to power, was also a snap election.
At stake are 41 seats in the Bahamian House of Assembly. This represents an increase of two seats from the last election, following recommendations from the independent constituencies commission to add two new seats. The PLP, which held a strong majority with 32 of the 39 seats heading into Tuesday’s vote, is campaigning to build on its mandate, while the FNM seeks to return to power after its 2021 defeat.
Christopher Curry, an associate professor of history at the University of the Bahamas, said Davis had focused on the argument that changing parties while plans from 2021 were still in progress would destabilise the country.
Curry expects the PLP to hold on to power but said the FNM had experienced some success over the past two weeks by focusing on immigration. He added: “Switching their campaigning slogan from ‘We work for you not for the few’ to ‘Save our Sovereignty (SOS)’, I think created more traction with Bahamian people.
“I hate to say it, but there tends to be an underlying sort of xenophobia that many Bahamians gravitate toward and so I think the opposition in a way is playing on that.”