AP News, May 2nd, 2007
Bahamian voters elected a new parliament Wednesday as the prime minister sought a second term on his record of growth in a tourism-driven economy while the opposition warned that the island chain has been put up for sale to foreigners.
Rallies during the campaign were marked by widespread mudslinging, including opposition references to the immigration minister who fast-tracked Anna Nicole Smith's residency application and resigned in scandal.
The Free National Movement, which governed from 1992 until 2002, hoped to win power back from the Progressive Liberal Party, its chief rival since the Bahamas won independence from Britain in 1974. The opposition held only eight of the 41 seats in the outgoing parliament.
About half the population of 300,000 was eligible to vote, and voters crowded into schools and other polling places.
Prime Minister Perry Christie campaigned for a second 5-year term by highlighting the $20 billion in new foreign investment and resort projects since he took office.
"We've taken the Bahamian economy to new heights of prosperity," he said in a televised address Monday night. "The economy is booming as never before. Tourism is vibrant and strong."
His opponent, Hubert Ingraham, warned that the government had gone too far in accommodating a second-home industry and tourist developments, arguing the country should lease rather than sell land to non-Bahamians.
"They simply sign on to just about any outrageous proposal that winds up in the inbox on their desks," Ingraham said at a rally Monday night. "Once the land is sold, it's gone."
Both parties' platforms called for new strategies to curb illegal immigration, fight crime by expanding community policing and devote more resources to diplomatic missions overseas.
Among the governing party's slate was Shane Gibson, the former immigration minister who was accused of showing preferential treatment to Smith.
Ingraham said the Bahamas should consider abolishing the law that allows foreigners to qualify for residency by purchasing a house in the country.
