Minnis Calls Snap Election for September 16

Prime Minister Hubert Minnis is calling an early election for September 16.

In a leaked letter to the Governor-General, Minnis is officially seeking a snap election and asking for a new parliament by October 6th.

“Pursuant to Articles 65 and 67 of the Constitution, I have the honor to advise your excellency to issue Writs of Election on the 19th day of August 2021, to cause a general election of members of the House of Assembly to be made on the 16th day of September 2021 according to law, and to order a new Parliament to meet on Wednesday the 6th day of October 2021.”

The big picture

Speculations of an early election have been rife since earlier in the year.

The governing party and the opposition have been ratifying candidates and heavily campaigning.

The official opposition party and other third parties have been agitating for an early election, prompting citizens and residents to register to vote.

Yesterday, PLP Leader Philip Davis called on Minnis to “ring the bell.” He said the election is “the first step to better days.”

Why it matters

This means Bahamians will go to the polls eight months ahead of schedule.

Minnis’ decision to call an early election is a gamble as the country is gripped with high cases of hospitalization and deaths due to COVID-19.

Yesterday, in a surprising turn of events, Parliament was prorogued and was expected to resume September 22.

Now that election will be called early, Parliament will instead have to be dissolved. This is when the life of parliament ends, every seat in the House becomes vacant and parliamentarians must render themselves as candidates.