Newly obtained official records from The Tribune have pulled back the curtain on attendance trends among members of the Bahamas’ House of Assembly, exposing significant disparities in participation among sitting lawmakers since the Davis administration took power in 2021. At the top of the list of the most frequently absent parliamentarians are three senior figures from the ruling Progressive Liberal Party (PLP): Foreign Affairs Minister and PLP Chairman Fred Mitchell, Central and South Abaco MP John Pinder, and Mount Moriah MP and Bahamas Public Parks and Beaches Authority chairman McKell Bonaby. All three have maintained attendance rates below 80 percent across the two parliamentary sessions covered in the data.
The dataset spans two full parliamentary periods: 88 sittings held between October 2021 and August 2023, and an additional 106 sittings running from October 2023 through March 2026. Mitchell, who represents the Fox Hill constituency, has missed 76 total sittings, translating to an attendance rate of just 60.8 percent – the lowest among all sitting members. When reached for comment by The Tribune, Mitchell declined to provide any explanation for his high number of absences.
Following closely behind Mitchell is Pinder, who has missed 55 sittings for a 71.6 percent attendance rate, and Bonaby, with 52 absences and a 73.2 percent attendance rate. Neither lawmaker responded to repeated requests for comment from The Tribune regarding their poor attendance track records. Energy Minister JoBeth Coleby-Davis came just behind this trio, missing 47 sittings to notch a 75.8 percent attendance rate. Seabreeze MP Leslia Miller-Brice missed 43 sittings, while North Andros and Berry Islands MP Leonardo Lightbourne missed 41 – with official records noting that one of Lightbourne’s absences was excused due to his participation in an official parliamentary conference.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, opposition Free National Movement (FNM) lawmakers claim the top three spots for the most consistent attendance. FNM leader and Marco City MP Michael Pintard, MICAL MP Basil McIntosh, and St Barnabas MP Shanendon Cartwright hold the best attendance records in the entire body. After these three opposition figures, Englerston MP Glenys Hanna-Martin, North Eleuthera MP Sylvanus Petty, Carmichael MP Keith Bell and Freetown MP Wayne Munroe all posted attendance rates at or above 90 percent, placing them among the most active participants in House proceedings.
One particularly notable entry in the records is the late Obie Wilchcombe, former MP for West Grand Bahama and Bimini, who maintained a perfect attendance record with zero absences before his unexpected passing in September 2023. The vast majority of other sitting lawmakers, including Prime Minister Philip Davis, Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper, and former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis, all hold attendance rates above the 80 percent threshold. Kingsley Smith, who won the 2023 by-election to fill Wilchcombe’s vacant West Grand Bahama and Bimini seat, has missed 14 sittings since taking office, while Darron Pickstock – who won the Golden Isles by-election last November – has only missed one sitting in his short tenure so far.