NASSAU – Prime Minister Perry Christie on Sunday announced that Parliament will be dissolved on April 11 ahead of the upcoming general election.
Christie who made the announcement in a statement also encouraged voters to register before the dissolution of Parliament.
“For general information, especially for the benefit of all those persons who would like to vote in the forthcoming General Election but have not yet registered to do so, it is my intention to cause the present Parliament to be dissolved on Tuesday, the 11th April, and to cause writs of election to be issued the same day.”
“I would therefore encourage all my fellow Bahamians to play their part in our democracy by registering to vote if they have not already done so, and to do so without further delay.”
As of March 20, 11 698 people had registered to vote in the election – this is 18 per cent less than the 172 000 on the 2012 voter registry.
Christie has not yet disclosed the date – however last week, it was confirmed that foreign observers, including those from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), have been invited to monitor the polls that will be held sometime next month.
The decision to call a general election is made by the prime minister, who advises the governor-general to dissolve parliament.
A general election was last held here on May 8, 2012 .
Christie’s Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) then won a majority in a landslide, taking 30 of the 38 seats in Parliament.
Following its defeat, the Free National Movement (FNM), the then leader – Hubert Ingraham announced his retirement from politics, having served in Parliament for 35 years.
This election, that must be called next month, will be a battle between Christie’s PLP and the main opposition FLM, led by Dr Hubert Minnis. (CMC)
