National

COI Leader Responds To House Prorogation

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Coalition of Independents Leader Lincoln Bain is reacting to the proroguing of Parliament, raising concerns about the lack of a fixed election date and the continued practice of surprise election timing.

Published

9 hours ago

March 27, 2026

Chinasa Outten

NASSAU , BAHAMAS – Reactions from across the political spectrum today…
Following the surprise announcement to prorogue Parliament.

The Prime Minister is under fire as well for a failure to keep a 2021 election promise for a fixed election date.

On election day, voters will have three main party choices along with some independents, depending on the constituency.

Now that the Prime Minister has ended this session of Parliament, Coalition of Independents Leader Lincoln Bain, spoke out against the culture of surprise election dates.

Lincoln Bain – Leader, Coalition of Independents

“I think it’s a relief for many Bahamians. It means that the end is drawing near, and the end of this administration is here, and I think that it is long awaited. I wish that they would’ve just told us a day so Bahamians can plan. We don’t understand why there has to be a surprise every time. We think that a responsible democracy should want people to be able to prepare to be competitive, to be able to compare, to prepare and, you know, purchase what they need to purchase and get ready to vote. I think that Bahamians need to be able to prepare their travel and prepare their lives, and I think that having a secret does not bode well for democracy.”

Bain also pointed to what he calls a contradiction in the Prime Minister’s stance on a fixed election date.

He reminded the public that ahead of the last general election, the then Opposition Leader Philip “Brave” Davis, committed to a fixed election date which has not materialized.

Lincoln Bain – Leader, Coalition of Independents

“Well, I think by now Bahamian people should be used to these politicians doing the opposite of what they say. I’m going to say some strong words—basically, say they lie to the Bahamian people. Of course, you know he wasn’t going to do it, otherwise he would have. If he was in the position to do so, and even if he wasn’t going to do it by law months ago, just prepare people and say this is going to be the date of the election. Then it would’ve been more fair and understandable.”

With this first step taken toward the election, Bain is leaving voters with a strong message to rethink their support for both of the established major political parties.

Lincoln Bain – Leader, Coalition of Independents

“I want to urge the Bahamian public to look around. I mean, look at The Bahamas—look at 50 years of failure. Why can’t we have health care? Why can’t we have a hospital? Why can’t we have good education? Why can’t we deal with crime? Why is immigration out of control in this country? Why is the unemployment of our young people over 20 percent? This country is going out of control, falling apart. The only thing working is the tax collection. We’re calling on Bahamians—we have to make a change. We have to shake up this country, or we’re going to lose it.”