Abaco Elects Albury and Henfield as Next Members of Parliament; Free National Movement to Form New Government

This article will be updated with official numbers as they become available.

See bottom of article for Polling Division Breakdowns.

On May 10, 2017 Abaconians went to the polls to vote for their next Members of Parliament. It was a warm, clear morning with reports that many voted early in the day. Candidates from the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), Free National Movement (FNM), Democratic National Alliance (DNA), Bahamas Constitution Party (BCP) and an Independent all vied for Abaco’s two seats.

By the time the polls closed at 6pm, Abaco had decided its next two MPs: James Albury (FNM) for Central / South Abaco and Darren Henfield (FNM) for North Abaco.

Following the trend in Abaco, the country in turn elected a majority of FNM candidates who will form the government and replace the previous PLP government.

For Central / South Abaco: James Albury (FNM) received 1945 votes, Eva Bain (PLP) received 917, Ruth Flowers (DNA) received 70 and Churton Toote (BCP) received 25. These are the official results.

For North Abaco: Darren Henfield (FNM) won the popular vote. His rivals were Renardo Curry (PLP), Claire Basden (DNA), Kathleen Knowles (BCP) and Cay Mills (Independent). Numbers were not consolidated and available at press time

Nationally, the Free National movement won 35 seats. The Progressive Liberal Party won 4. This was unofficial at press time.

Voting went smoothly throughout the polling divisions in Abaco with the exception of Spring City’s Polling Division 7 in Central / South Abaco where party observers were not allowed in to perform their duties. The issue was resolved and acknowledged by Senior Island Administrator Charles Moss.

However, in New Providence there were some irregularities in the Elizabeth and Seabreeze constituencies where voting had to be temporarily suspended. Those issues were resolved according to The Parliamentary Commissioner, Charles Albury, who replaced the embattled former Parliamentary Commissioner, Sherlyn Hall – who was heavily criticized for his mishandling of the Advanced Polling on May 3, 2017.

Despite the contentious nature of this election, it is notable that the process locally was peaceful, smooth and relatively quick. Abaconian reporter, Canishka Alexander, noted “Despite the disagreements and differences of opinion voiced regarding the political parties that exist, there was an atmosphere of peacefulness and unity at all polling divisions that I visited.”

Parliament resumes on May 24, 2017. With the mandate to represent the people of Abaco, Henfield and Albury begin their political careers and look to help tackle the problems facing The Bahamas and their constituencies.

Central & South Abaco Results

(Official after recount)

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