List of National Assembly constituencies of the Bahamas
House of Assembly of the Bahamas | |
|---|---|
| 14th Bahamian Parliament | |
 | |
| History | |
| Founded | 4 March 1729 |
| Seats | 39 |
| Elections | |
| First-past-the-post | |
Last election | 16 September 2021 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Bahamian Parliament, Nassau, The Bahamas | |
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The Bahamas House of Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral legislature of The Bahamas, an island country in the Caribbean. It is housed at the Bahamian Parliament Building in Nassau, the national capital. The current Assembly was elected by the general election held on 16 September 2021. The Assembly has 39 single-member constituencies and it uses the first-past-the-post system for elections. The Members of Parliament (MPs) serve five-year terms.[1][2]
The National Assembly's beginning can be traced back to 1729 when a Representative Assembly was set up for what was then a British colony. It was formed with 24 members (16 for New Providence, and four each for Harbour Island and Eleuthera).[3] The first election after the country got independence from the United Kingdom was in 1977, when it had 38 constituencies.[4] Since then, it has had a varying number of constituencies in the assembly. For the 1987 and the 1992 elections, it had 49 constituencies.[5][6] The current constituencies are based on the recommendations of the Constituency Commission in 2016.[7] The commission conducts a review of the electoral boundaries every five years and makes recommendations to ensure that there is parity of numbers in each constituency.[8] It suggests that each constituency have around 5,000 voters with a margin of 500.[9]
Constituencies
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See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "The Bahamas Election Centre". Caribbean Elections. Archived from the original on 24 July 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
- ^ "The Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
- ^ Donald M. McCartney (2004). Bahamian Culture and Factors which Impact Upon it: A Compilation of Two Essays. Dorrance Publishing Company. p. 42. ISBN 0805963251.
The first Representative Assembly in the Bahamas was established in 1729 and consisted of twenty-four members...
- ^ "Bahamas Parliamentary Chamber: House of Assembly - Elections held in 1977" (PDF). Inter-Parliamentary Union. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 November 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
- ^ "Bahamas Parliamentary Chamber: House of Assembly - Elections held in 1987" (PDF). Inter-Parliamentary Union. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 November 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
- ^ "Bahamas Parliamentary Chamber: House of Assembly - Elections held in 1992". Inter-Parliamentary Union. Archived from the original on 13 November 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
- ^ "39 seats in next House". Bahamas Local News. 9 January 2017. Archived from the original on 30 July 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2024.
- ^ Rashad Rolle (6 April 2021). "Davis Backs Boundary Change". The Tribune. Archived from the original on 5 September 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
- ^ Jones Jr., Royston (7 June 2021). "Final Hurdle: Constituencies commission to complete report on Monday". Eyewitness News. Archived from the original on 5 September 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
- ^ "2021 General Election Results - Winner Percentage". Parliamentary Registration Department, Government of the Bahamas. Archived from the original on 17 February 2024. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
