Women United (WU) Congratulates Newly Elected Women MPs and the Return of the Davis Administration

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Women United (WU) extends its heartfelt congratulations to the nine women elected to the Parliament of The Bahamas in the 2026 general election — the highest number of women ever to sit in the nation’s legislature. We commend each of them for their historic achievement and wish them wisdom, courage, and strength as they take up the responsibilities of public office.

WU also congratulates Prime Minister Philip Davis and the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) on securing a second term in government. We recognise the mandate entrusted to them and look forward to engaging constructively for the benefit of all Bahamians and residents of The Bahamas, particularly women and children.

Promises Made to Women and Children

In its Blueprint for Progress 2026, the PLP made a number of commitments that directly affect the lives of women and children across The Bahamas. These include:

· Fully resourcing and operationalising the Protection Against Violence Act

· Expanding the RBPF Domestic Violence Unit to Grand Bahama

· Expanding sexual violence prevention education in schools

· The Employment Bill 2026, providing 14 weeks of maternity leave, 2 weeks of paid paternity leave, adoption leave, and breastfeeding breaks with private spaces

· A Temporary Social Housing Programme, including provisions for survivors of domestic violence

· Establishing a dedicated Sexual Offences Court

· Completing the Female Juvenile Detention Centre

· Expanding facilities for children with special needs

· Universal early childhood care from age four

· Universal hot breakfasts and free school bussing

A Troubling Timeline

However, we must draw attention to a matter that has not escaped our notice.

The Protection Against Violence Act was passed in the House of Assembly in July 2023 and by the Senate on August 2, 2023 — a mere 19 days before the Commonwealth Secretariat’s 13th Commonwealth Women’s Affairs Ministers Meeting (WAMM), which convened in The Bahamas from August 21 to 23, 2023.

WU along with other Women activists had advocated instead for the passage of the draft Gender Based Violence Act, which we all viewed as a more robust framework. The Protection Against Violence Act was not the legislation many had called for. Nonetheless, recognising the urgent needs of those at risk, women’s organisations agreed to work with the government within the framework of the Act to assist victims and survivors of violence.

However, the Protection Against Violence Commission — the central mechanism designed to implement the Act — was not established until February 1, 2026, nearly three years later, and was publicly announced only on March 2, 2026, just months before the May 12, 2026, general election.

We note this timing. We note that a significant piece of legislation, passed to satisfy international obligations, lay dormant until just before the general election for the better part of a parliamentary term. It has not escaped our notice, and we will not forget. The appointment of Mrs. Marisa Mason-Smith as co-chair of the Commission makes us optimistic that its objectives will be fulfilled in relatively short order. We commit to working alongside her in any way that she feels that we can assist.

Holding the Government to Account

Women United undertakes to hold the government’s feet to the fire on every pledge it has made to women and children in its Blueprint for Progress. Promises made must be promises kept — with urgency, not delay.

A Challenge to the Nine

To the nine women now seated in Parliament, we extend both our congratulations and our expectation that they will work to ensure that the welfare and rights of women and children are championed in Parliament on our behalf.

We note that Michela Barnett-Ellis, in one of her first public statements as a Member of Parliament-elect for Killarney, declared that she hopes “to make a difference.” She pointed to proposed amendments to marriage laws to improve divorce and co-parenting processes, and said she plans to advocate for stronger protections against violence toward women.

We welcome that commitment. And we call on all nine women — across both sides of the aisle — to use their voices and their votes to advance the matters that affect women and children in The Bahamas. Their presence in Parliament is historic. What they do with it will be the true measure of that history.