Philip Davis and his Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) have won the general election in the Bahamas, making Davis the first prime minister in nearly 30 years to serve two consecutive terms. Early tallies show the PLP on track to win more than 30 of the 41 seats in the country's House of Assembly, the lower chamber of parliament. The results were announced late on Tuesday, and Davis addressed supporters in Nassau, the capital, pledging to work for all Bahamians regardless of how they voted. "This victory is a mandate to keep moving the Bahamas forward, to expand opportunity, strengthen security, ease the pressure on families, and deliver progress across our islands," Davis said.
The win is the first time since 1997 that a Bahamian party has won back-to-back general elections. The Bahamas, an archipelago in the Caribbean, has historically alternated power between the centre-left PLP and its main rival, the Free National Movement (FNM). The FNM's leader, Michael Pintard, conceded defeat in a phone call to Davis, though he retained his own parliamentary seat representing the Marco City constituency. The FNM's chair and deputy leader both lost their seats, and former prime minister Hubert Minnis — who held his seat for nearly 20 years before being defeated by Davis in 2021 — failed to win it back after running as an independent following the FNM's refusal to ratify him as a candidate.
The vote was called early to avoid disruptions from the Atlantic hurricane season, which typically peaks in October, when the election had originally been expected. Two new constituencies — St James and the Berry Islands — were created ahead of this vote, expanding the House of Assembly from 39 to 41 seats; the PLP won both. Among the notable losers was Rick Fox, a three-time NBA champion who ran as the FNM candidate in the Garden Hills constituency but was defeated by the incumbent minister Mario Bowleg.
The election was dominated by concerns over the cost of living, housing affordability, stagnant wages, crime, immigration, and healthcare. The International Monetary Fund had flagged housing costs and wage pressures as ongoing challenges for the Bahamian economy in 2025. In the months before the vote, Davis moved to remove value-added tax from groceries, though critics argued the measure would do little to ease financial strain on ordinary households. Housing remains a persistent challenge that successive governments of both parties have struggled to address.
The result cements Davis's political standing and gives the PLP a strengthened mandate, though the scale of the FNM's losses raises questions about the future direction of the opposition party and whether Pintard will remain its leader.