A snap election is underway in the Bahamas, with voters heading to the polls to decide whether to grant Prime Minister Philip Davis and his ruling Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) a rare second consecutive term in office.

If Davis wins on Tuesday, he would be the first leader of the Caribbean island nation to serve a second term in nearly 30 years. He faces a challenge from the Free National Movement (FNM) led by Michael Pintard.

“Today, we vote to keep The Bahamas moving forward,” Davis said in a social media post. “Let’s protect our progress, keep our momentum, and secure what comes next. Vote PLP. Choose Progress.”

Concerns about affordability, poor wage growth, and rising housing costs are top of mind for voters, with parties competing for 41 seats in the House of Assembly.

The Nassau Guardian reported that no political party has successfully formed a government for two consecutive terms since 1997, when Hubert Ingraham of the FNM beat the PLP for the second election in a row.

The election was initially scheduled for October but was called early by Davis due to concerns about holding the vote during hurricane season. Davis first came to power in a snap election in 2021.

The campaign has seen high spending along with false claims spread on social media, sometimes using artificial intelligence. The race has tightened in recent weeks following revelations of potentially improper government spending, including hundreds of millions of dollars in no-bid contracts.

Source: www.aljazeera.com