Commonwealth of the Bahamas: Referendum, 7 June 2016

At stake in this election:

• This referendum will determine if changes will be made to the constitution.

Description of government structure:

• 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 Perry CHRISTIE (since 8 May 2012)
• Assembly: Bahamas has a bicameral Parliament consisting of the Senate with 16 seats and the House of Assembly with 38 seats.

Electoral requirements:

• For the referendum to pass, a simple majority of the vote must be met.

About the referendum:

• There are four proposed changes to the constitution that will be determined by the referendum.  

Main provisions in the referendum:

• Do you approve of the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2014?
  • Under the proposed change to the Constitution, a child born outside of The Bahamas would, after the coming into operation of this amendment, become a Bahamian citizen at birth if either its mother or father is a citizen of The Bahamas by birth.
• Do you approve of the Constitution (Amendment) (No 2) Bill, 2014?
  • Under this proposed change to the Constitution, the foreign spouse of a Bahamian citizen would, after the coming into operation of this Article, be entitled to apply for and obtain citizenship subject to satisfying:
    • (i) existing national security or public policy considerations; and
    • (ii) new provisions guarding against marriages of convenience.
• Do you approve of the Constitution (Amendment) (No 3) Bill, 2014?
  • Under this proposed change to the Constitution, a Bahamian father of a person born out of wedlock after the coming into operation of this amendment would be able to pass his citizenship to that person subject to legal proof that he is the father.
• Do you approve of the Constitution (Amendment) (No 4) Bill, 2014?
  • Under this proposed change to the constitution, it would be unlawful to discriminate based on “sex,” which would be defined as “being male or female.”

Population and number of registered voters:

·         Population: 324,597 (2015)

·         Registered Voters: 172,128 (2012)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 165,626 (2015)

·         Is Bahamas a signatory to CEDAW: No

·         Has Bahamas ratified CEDAW: Yes, accession (6 October 1993)

·         Gender Quota: No

·         Female candidates in this election: N/A

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 9 (16.67%)[1]

·         Human Development Index Position: 55 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: N/A

Disability Data:

·         Is Bahamas a signatory to CRPD: Yes (24 September 2013)

·         Has Bahamas ratified CRPD: Yes (28 September 2015)

·         Population with a disability: 48,690 (est.)