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Parliamentary Dept > Overview > History of Voting in The Bahamas
Parliamentary
Brief History Of Voting In The Bahamas
The Bahamas has had a system for electing Members to the House of Assembly since the creation of The Assembly in 1729. One of the requirements of the electoral system was that eligible voters must be legal owners of property - only men had the right to vote. On Election Day, each voter was openly asked whom he wanted to vote for and the choice was recorded. Open balloting was abolished in 1949.
In the 1956 general elections, the Bahamian electorate was introduced to ‘party politics’ when six (6) representatives were elected to represent the Progressive Liberal Party in the House of Assembly.
Universal adult suffrage was introduced in the general elections of 1962 when Bahamian women won the right to vote.
The Bahamas is made up of single-member constituencies elected on the principle of ‘one person one vote.’
The electoral system is based on the principle of ‘first past the post’ i.e. the person polling the highest number of votes in a constituency is declared the winner.
Before 1967, members of the House of Assembly were not paid any form of remuneration for their services. After the coming of majority rule in 1967, a parliamentary salary scheme was introduced.
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