Early elections amid COVID pandemic

NASSAU, The Bahamas: –

Bahamians will go to the polls on September 16, eight months before a general election is constitutionally due, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis announced Thursday morning as he stressed that whoever emerges victorious will have to make key decisions on the way forward in the COVID-19 pandemic.

In an address to the nation at 11 a.m., an hour after Commissioner of Police Paul Rolle, in his capacity as provost m,arshall, read a proclamation from Governor General Sir Cornelius Smith dissolving Parliament, Minnis said: “Earlier today, Parliament was dissolved. It is time for you, the people, to choose who you will elect to form the next government of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.”

“I have advised the governor general to issue the writs of election which will be held on Thursday, 16th of September, 2021.”

The prime minister said that the election was coming amid “the worst public-health crisis in our modern history”, referring to the COVID-19 pandemic, and he told residents that their next government would have key decisions to make in enacting post-pandemic public-health legislation, continued economic growth, and rebuilding and renewing a post-COVID-19 Bahamas.

“A new mandate is needed to ensure that a government is in place to do this difficult work over the long term as we are reaching a critical turning point in the pandemic,” Minnis said.