The Bahamas And A Constitutional Monarchy
The constitution of The Bahamas was adopted upon independence in 1973. It also is patterned on the Westminster model. The bicameral parliament comprises the House of Assembly and Senate. Their powers are relatively restricted compared. The formal head of state is the British monarch represented by a governor-general. The head of government is the prime minister formally appointed by the governor-general. The prime minister must be a member of the House of Assembly and be able to command a majority of its votes. House members are elected by universal adult suffrage. Then, the members of the Senate are appointed by the governor. A Parliament is five years, but elections may be held sooner if the prime minister is unable to retain a majority in the House. Judicial power on the islands resides in the Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court, and magistrates’ courts.
All citizens of Bahama who are eighteen and older have the right to vote. Bahamian women in general had remained unpoliticized until the early 1950s. They did not obtain the franchise until 1962. As educational opportunities increased after the 1960s, great changes came along as well. In 1982, the first female member of Parliament was elected. Since then, there have been female legislators, cabinet members, and Supreme Court justices. The main political parties are the Progressive Liberal Party, which led the movement for government by the majority in the 1950s and ’60s, and the Free National Movement (FNM; 1972), which grew out of the PLP.
To reiterate, the Bahamas is a constitutional monarchy that recognizes Queen Elizabeth II as head of state. She is represented by a Governor-General, who is chosen on the advice of the cabinet. It is a parliamentary democracy with a bicameral legislature. The Senate has sixteen members with nine appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister. Four are on the advice of the opposition leader and three after joint discussions. The House of Assembly is directly elected on a district basis for a term that does not exceed five years. A commission meets at intervals of not less than five years to review the constituency boundaries. The constitution allows for three distinct types of legislation: the ‘specially entrenched’ provisions relating to parliament itself and the judicial system require a three-quarters majority in both houses and a popular referendum; ‘entrenched’ provisions require a two-thirds majority in both houses; and other legislation a simple majority vote.
In January 2012, the government introduced changes in the Bahamas Parliamentary Elections Act that allowed limited overseas voting for nationals and permitted independent observers to observe the election process. The March 1997 elections were won by the Free National Movement. This election was led by Hubert Ingraham. As a result, he secured 34 seats and the remaining ones were taken by the Progressive Liberal Party. After the elections, Sir Lynden Pindling, who had led the PLP for 32 years, stood down and was replaced by Perry Christie. In May 2002, the PLP achieved victory in a landslide by taking 29 seats. Afterwards, Christie became Prime Minister.
Tommy Turnquest, who had succeeded Ingraham as FNM leader before the elections, lost his seat. Subsequently, he was appointed to the Senate. Three years after stepping down as leader of the FNM, Ingraham returned to head the party in November 2005. Upon his return, he led it to victory in the general elections of May 2007. In these elections, the FNM took 23 seats and the PLP took 18. This turnout was 91 percent of registered electors. On the retirement of Arthur Dion Hanna in April 2010, Sir Arthur Foulkes had succeeded him as Governor-General.
In 1969, the name Commonwealth of the Bahama Islands was adopted. Upon its independence in 1973, the official form became The Commonwealth of The Bahamas. The PLP had done their job and maintained its position. Their position was the majority party after independence. The Free National Movement had formed the main opposition. The FNM was established in 1972 through a merger between the UBP and alienated anti-independence. It happened to be PLP members calling themselves the Free PLP. The government embarked on programs to improve economic development. With the embarkment, they hoped to increase the standard of living and halt the rising unemployment rate. The Bahamas is a member of the Caribbean Community and Common Market, the United Nations, UNESCO, the Organization of American States, and the Commonwealth.
The Bahamas have a common monarchy with Britain and the other Commonwealth realms under the statute of Westminster. Their laws govern the line of succession to the Bahamian throne that lies within the control of the Bahamian Parliament. However, the Bahamas cannot change rules of succession without unanimous consent of the other realms unless explicitly leaving the shared monarchy by means of a constitutional amendment. This situation applies symmetrically to all other realms including the UK.
The Bahamian constitution consists of a variety of statutes and conventions. These are either British or Bahamian in origin. This gives the Bahamas a similar parliamentary system of government. This system is similar to the other Commonwealth realms. All powers of state are constitutionally reposed in the Monarch, who is represented by the Governor General of the Bahamas.
The Monarch is informed of the Prime Minister's decision before the Governor General gives Royal Assent. The current constitution for the Commonwealth of the Bahamas is part of the Schedule to the Bahamas Independence Order of 1973. This was made under the Bahamas Islands Constitution Act 1963. The Order came into operation on 10 July 1973. The first section declares that the Commonwealth of the Bahamas shall be a sovereign democratic State.
Political Structure and Administrative Divisions of the Bahamas
A two-party system characterizes the political fabric of the Bahamas. The two that dominate the country are the center-left Progressive Liberty Party and the center-right Free National Movement. Other parties such as the Bahamas Democratic Movement, Democratic National Alliance, and the Coalition for Democratic Reform have unfortunately been unable to win parliamentary elections. All districts in the Bahamas are served by local government except New Providence, which is governed by the central government. The Bahamian Parliament enacted an Act led to family island administrators, local district councilors, local government district, and local town committee establishment. This enactment was to govern the affairs of their respective districts with minimal interference from central government. The Bahamas possess 32 districts and elections are held once every five years. The people that represent the various areas are 110 councilors and 281 towns Committee electives. A big responsibility is held as they are responsible for proper management and use of public funds in their individual constituencies. (Sawe, 2016. )
The Judiciary of the Bahamas
The Bahamas judicial system follows under the English Common Law. The Legal Service Commission constitutes five persons that are headed by the Chief Justice. The Highest court is the Supreme Court and 12 justices serving it. They comprise of the Chief Justice and five judges from the court of appeal. The Privy Council in London serves as the highest appellate court in the country. The magistrate courts listen to indictable matters and determine whether the accused should face trial. This trail could take place in either the Supreme Court or Court of Appeal. The judge alone usually hears civil cases and any appeal lies with the Supreme Court. On the advice of the Prime Minister and opposition leader, the governor-general can select the chief justice. The judicial commission has the right to advise the governor-general on the appointment of other judges. The judicial system is independent of both Parliament and the executive.
The Legislative Branch of the Bahamas
As stated earlier, the Bahamas has a bicameral Parliament that consists of the House of Assembly and Senate. The government can dissolve Parliament and call for elections any time. The lower House has the job of carrying out legislative functions. Their functions include making all the laws that govern the country. Finance bills are the only type of bills that are introduced to the House of Assembly. Other bills are introduced into Senate or the lower House. For a bill to be considered an act, both Houses must first approve it.
Additionally, the governor-general appoints sixteen members to serve in the Senate. These members include nine selected as with the consent and advice of the Prime Minister. Next, four are selected from the opposition. Last, the remaining three are selected as advised by the Prime Minister and opposition leader. Since Senate is not popularly elected, the constitution has to restrict the powers of Senate as a consequence.
For example, if a bill passes the lower house twice and the Senate rejects it in both occasions, there is still hope. To give a spark, the House of Assembly have the choice of bypassing Senate. Once Senate is bypassed, they have the authority of sending the bill to the governor-general. After getting the bill to the governor-general, it falls of the responsibility of them in having the last say-so for the final approval. However, if the Senate makes any amendment to the bill, the lower house must approve the changes.
Bibliography
- “Bahamas, The: Constitution and Politics. ” Bahamas, The: Constitution and politics. The Commonwealth. https://thecommonwealth. org/our-member-countries/bahamas/constitution-politics (December 4, 2019).
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, The Editors of. 2018. “New Providence Island. ” Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www. britannica. com/place/New-Providence-Island (December 5, 2019).
- Sawe, Benjamin Elisha. 2016. “What Type of Government Does The Bahamas Have?” World Atlas. https://www. worldatlas. com/articles/what-type-of-government-does-the-bahamas-have. html (December 5, 2019).
- Vallance, Adam. 2016. “The Bahamas. ” The Royal Family. https://www. royal. uk/bahamas (December 5, 2019).
