Politics
Bahamas election: Economy, oil dominate the race
Incumbent Prime Minister of The Bahamas., Hubert Ingraham. PHOTO/BIS/Sharon Turner
(Reuters) – A struggling economy, rising crime and posturing over offshore oil exploration dominate the campaign as Bahamas gears up for a general election on Monday in which Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham seeks a fourth term in office.
Analysts, however, predict a close race between Ingraham, of the ruling Free National Movement (FNM), and Perry Christie, a former prime minister and leader of the opposition Progressive Liberal Party (PLP).
The Bahamas, like many Caribbean countries, is struggling with a sluggish economic recovery from the global recession and grappling with rising crime rates.
Tourism and offshore banking, the economic backbone of the Bahamas, have been hit hard. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts the economy will grow by 2.5 percent in 2012, after expanding around 2 percent in 2011.
Analysts say there could be as much as 1 billion barrels of oil reserves in the waters of the Bahamas, offering a new opportunity for economic growth.
Ingraham initially vowed he would not approve any drilling for oil if re-elected, but then backed down and said he would approve drilling once the appropriate regulatory procedures were put in place.
At the same time, he has sought to cast Christie’s party as being closely tied to the Bahamas Petroleum Company.
Rick Lowe, vice president of the Nassau Institute, a Bahamian think tank, said there was little disagreement between the two parties whether the oil exploration should move forward.
“Everyone accepts it’s a great opportunity for the country, it’s how you approach it,” he said.
Christie says Ingraham, who also served as prime minister from 1992 to 2002, has failed to engineer a vigorous economic turnaround in a country where the unemployment rate stands at 14.7 percent.
Authorities blame rising crime – for instance, 127 murders last year compared with 94 in 2010 – on remnants of drug trafficking and gangsterism they say flourished in the Bahamas during the 1970s and 1980s.