The Bahamas is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy headed by King Charles III in his role as King of the Bahamas. The politics of The Bahamas takes place within a framework of parliamentary democracy, with a Prime Minister as the Head of Government. The Bahamas is an Independent Country and a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. As a former British colony, its political and legal traditions closely follow those of the United Kingdom. King Charles III is the head of state, but executive power is exercised by the cabinet. Legislative power is vested in the two chambers of parliament. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature and jurisprudence is based on English common law. The multi-party system is dominated by the Progressive Liberal Party and the Free National Movement. The constitution protects freedom of speech, press, worship, movement, and association.
Bermuda is the oldest British Overseas Territory, and the oldest self-governing British Overseas Territory, and has a great degree of internal autonomy through authority and roles of governance delegated to it by the national Government. Its parliament held its first session in 1620, making it the third-oldest continuous parliament in the world. As part of the British realm, King Charles III is head of state and is represented in Bermuda by a Governor, whom he appoints on the advice of the British Government. The Governor has special responsibilities in four areas: external affairs, defence, internal security, and policing.
The Free National Movement is a political party in the Bahamas formed in the early 1970s and led by Sir Cecil Wallace-Whitfield. The current leader of the party is Michael Pintard and the current deputy leader is Shanendon Cartwright.
The United Bermuda Party (UBP) was a political party in Bermuda, which represented itself as centrist party with a moderate social and fiscal agenda. The party held power in Bermuda's House of Assembly continuously from 1968 to 1998, the 47-year-old party was dissolved on 30 June 2011 after the majority of its members joined the One Bermuda Alliance.
The Progressive Labour Party (PLP) is one of the two political parties in Bermuda. At the 18 July 2017 general election, the party won 24 of the 36 seats in the Bermudian House of Assembly to become the governing party. The party was founded in 1963, the first political party in Bermuda, and the oldest still active. It formed government from 1998 to 2012, and again since 2017.
The Senate of Bermuda is the upper house of the Parliament of Bermuda, the other being the House of Assembly. The Senate consists of eleven members appointed by the Governor for five-year terms — five Senators are nominated by the Premier, three by the Leader of the Opposition, and three appointed at the discretion of the Governor. Of the three appointed by the Governor, the Senate elects one to serve as the President, and another to serve as the Vice President.
Ewart Frederick Brown Jr. is a politician and physician who served as the ninth Premier of Bermuda and leader of the country's Progressive Labour Party (PLP) from 2006 to 2010. He represented Warwick South Central as a Member of Parliament from 1993 to 2010.
General elections were held in Bermuda on 18 December 2007 to elect all 36 members of the House of Assembly. The incumbent Progressive Labour Party (PLP) led by Ewart Brown was returned for a third term, with 22 of the 36 seats of the House of Assembly, with the opposition United Bermuda Party (UBP) winning the remaining 14 seats.
Hubert "Kim" E. Swan is a Bermudian professional golfer and politician. He was reelected for the Progressive Labour Party (PLP) in July 2017. He was a member of parliament from 2007 to 2012, where he was Leader of the Opposition of Bermuda from 21 January 2008 until 16 May 2011. He also served as a UBP Senator from 1998 to 2007.
The Bermuda Democratic Alliance (BDA) was a political party in Bermuda which lasted from its foundation in November 2009 until its merger into the One Bermuda Alliance in May 2011.
General elections were held in Bermuda on 17 December 2012 to elect all 36 members of the House of Assembly. The result was a victory for the One Bermuda Alliance, led by Craig Cannonier, which won 19 seats in the House of Assembly. The incumbent Progressive Labour Party (PLP) lost five seats and government, and Premier Paula Cox lost her Devonshire North West seat, and resigned as leader of the PLP the next day, with Derrick Burgess becoming Acting Party Leader. Marc Bean became PLP leader on 22 December 2012.
Craig Cannonier is a Bermudian politician, who served as Premier of Bermuda from 18 December 2012 until his resignation on 19 May 2014. He has also served as the leader of the One Bermuda Alliance since 10 September 2011.
Michael Henry Dunkley, JP, MP is a Bermudian politician and businessman who served as the 12th Premier of Bermuda from 2014 to 2017. He was an MP and member general of the One Bermuda Alliance political party and an active businessman on the island.
The Hon. Marc A. Bean, JP, MP is a Bermudian politician, and the former Leader of the Opposition. Bean was a Member of Bermuda's Parliament since winning a by-election in 2010, securing the seat of Warwick South Central for the Bermuda Progressive Labour Party (PLP). Previously, Bean had served in the Bermuda Senate. While in government, Bean held various ministerial and junior ministerial portfolios, including Environment, Planning and Infrastructure Strategy. In September 2020, he announced that he was forming a new political party, the Free Democratic Movement, to contest the 2020 Bermudian general election.
Same-sex marriage is currently not recognised nor performed in Bermuda, a British Overseas Territory, but it was legal between 2017 and 2022. However, marriages performed during that period remain valid.
General elections were held in Bermuda on 18 July 2017 to elect all 36 members to the House of Assembly. The result was a victory for the opposition Progressive Labour Party, which won 24 of the 36 seats. Incumbent Premier Michael Dunkley subsequently resigned as leader of the One Bermuda Alliance. Bob Richards, a senior minister and deputy premier in Dunkley's government unexpectedly lost his Devonshire East seat.
Diallo Vincent Rabain, JP, MP is the current Minister of Education and Workforce Development, and a member of the Bermuda Progressive Labour Party.
Jeanne Atherden is a Bermudian politician and was the Leader of the Opposition in the House of Assembly of Bermuda until she resigned in September 2018. She became opposition leader after winning the party leadership of the largest opposition party, the One Bermuda Alliance, in November 2017. In 2008 she was appointed to serve as a Senator and since 2013 has served as an MP for Pembroke West.
General elections were held in Bermuda on 1 October 2020 to elect all 36 members of the House of Assembly. On 21 August 2020 Premier Edward David Burt announced that Governor of Bermuda John Rankin has accepted his advice to call a snap election. The election resulted in the largest victory for one party since party politics began in Bermuda in 1968, as the Progressive Labour Party won 62% of the vote and 30 of 36 seats.
