Conventional long form: Commonwealth of The Bahamas
Conventional short form: The Bahamas
History: previous 1964 (preindependence); latest adopted 20 June 1973, effective 10 July 1973 (2018)
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of The Bahamas
Dual citizenship recognized: no
Residency requirement for naturalization: 6-9 years
Chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Dame Marguerite PINDLING (since 8 July 2014)
Head of government: Prime Minister Hubert MINNIS (since 11 May 2017)
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by governor general on recommendation of prime minister
Elections:
Note: Prime Minister Hubert MINNIS is only the fourth prime minister in Bahamian history following its independence from the UK; he is also the first prime minister in 25 years besides Perry CHRISTIE and Hubert INGRAHAM, who repeatedly traded the premiership from 1992 to 2017
Description: bicameral Parliament consists of
Elections: last held on 10 May 2017 (next to be held by May 2022)
Election results: House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - FNM 57%, PLP 36.9%, other 6.1%; seats by party - FNM 35, PLP 4
Note: the government may dissolve the parliament and call elections at any time
Highest courts: Court of Appeal (consists of the court president and 4 justices, organized in 3-member panels); Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice and a maximum of 11 and a minimum of 2 justices)
Judge selection and term of office: Court of Appeal president and Supreme Court chief justice appointed by the governor-general on the advice of the prime minister after consultation with the leader of the opposition party; other Court of Appeal and Supreme Court justices appointed by the governor general upon recommendation of the Judicial and Legal Services Commission, a 5-member body headed by the chief justice; Court of Appeal justices appointed for life with mandatory retirement normally at age 68 but can be extended until age 70; Supreme Court justices appointed for life with mandatory retirement normally at age 65 but can be extended until age 67
Subordinate courts: Industrial Tribunal; Stipendiary and Magistrates' Courts; Family Island Administrators
Note: as of 2008, the Bahamas was not a party to the agreement establishing the Caribbean Court of Justice as the highest appellate court for the 15-member Caribbean Community (CARICOM); the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (in London) serves as the final court of appeal for The Bahamas
Name: March On, Bahamaland!
Lyrics:
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