The Bahamas’ general election delivered a devastating blow to the Free National Movement (FNM) on polling day, leaving the long-established political party grappling with significant internal upheaval and growing calls for party leader Michael Pintard to step down from his post.
In the final seat count, the FNM secured only eight parliamentary seats. While the party managed to flip the Freetown and MICAL constituencies from the ruling Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), it suffered high-profile losses that amplified the scale of its defeat. Notably, the FNM lost the St Barnabas seat; deputy party leader Shanendon Cartwright failed to win re-election in his St James constituency, and party chairman Dr. Duane Sands was defeated in his Bamboo Town race.
Pintard, who successfully retained his own Marco City seat, offered no clear confirmation that he would stay on as party leader when questioned about his political future shortly after the results were finalized. He stated that he would first hold internal consultations with the party’s senior team in the coming days before any announcement is made.
“I believe in party conventions,” Pintard told reporters. “I have always respected that process. Over my four and a half years as leader, we have held three conventions, two of which included leadership contests. I am fully committed to following the party’s constitutional process. First and foremost, though, I am committed to talking through our next steps with the party team, and in the next few days we will reach a decision and share it publicly.”
Pintard’s ambiguous remarks set the stage for what could become a competitive open leadership contest as the FNM begins the slow work of rebuilding after a second consecutive election failure where its policy platform failed to connect with Bahamian voters. The FNM’s winning candidates include J. Leo Ferguson in MICAL, Lincoln Deal in Freetown, Frazette Gibson in Central Grand Bahama, Kwasi Thompson in East Grand Bahama, Dr. Andre Rollins in Long Island, Adrian White in St Anne’s, and Michela Barnett-Ellis in Killarney, alongside Pintard in Marco City.
Shortly after the results became clear, Pintard called incumbent Prime Minister Philip Davis to congratulate him and the PLP on their election victory, formally conceding defeat. In his public concession address, Pintard paid tribute to the defeated Cartwright, calling him a close friend and brother in the party and praising his years of service to the FNM and Bahamian public.
The FNM leader emphasized that the Bahamian people had exercised their democratic right to choose their government, and the party fully accepted the outcome of the vote. “The people of the Bahamas have spoken, and we accept their decision,” he said. “That is how democracy works. We put forward our platform, we ask voters for their trust, we count every ballot, and we honor the final result. That has always been the Bahamian way, and tonight we honor that tradition once again.”
He thanked voters who cast their ballots for FNM candidates, noting that the party had grown its caucus size in Parliament compared to the previous term, adding that official final results would be confirmed the following day. Pintard framed the election loss as a temporary setback, not a rejection of the core values the FNM campaigned on.
“You believe in a different kind of government,” he said, addressing supporters. “You believed in honest, accountable government that acts fairly in all its dealings, fairly in awarding government contracts. You believed in a Bahamas that works for every one of our people. That belief did not lose tonight. That belief endures, and it will outlast every election that comes.”
Throughout the campaign, the FNM positioned itself as the standard-bearer for clean, transparent governance, but the 2024 defeat leaves the party grappling with urgent questions about its electoral strategy, leadership direction, and ability to build broad voter support following its 2021 general election loss. Even constituencies political observers had tipped as potential PLP losses, including seats in Abaco, were retained by the incumbent government. The Abaco race drew controversy before voting day, after revelations emerged that the PLP government had distributed more than $200,000 in gift cards funded by the Ministry of Finance to residents under the names of PLP candidates and officials, framed as Hurricane Dorian disaster relief – a move the opposition decried as blatant vote-buying.
In his address to supporters, Pintard urged all FNM backers not to lose heart, speaking directly to young party members, long-time loyalists, and unsuccessful candidates. He invoked the legacy of former FNM Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, reminding the crowd that the party’s founding mission to advance government accountability and transparency did not end with Ingraham’s retirement, nor would it end with this election defeat. He confirmed that the FNM would now step into its constitutional role as His Majesty’s Loyal Opposition, where it would hold the new PLP government accountable and carefully scrutinize its legislative and policy agenda.
When asked whether the Coalition of Independents (COI) and unaffiliated independent candidates split the opposition vote and aided the PLP’s victory, Pintard confirmed that his pre-election warning had been borne out. “It was clear that not just the COI, but independents as well, helped the PLP,” he said. “We made this point repeatedly during the campaign: a vote for COI or a vote for an independent is a vote that ultimately helps the PLP. We see that very clearly now.”
That comment signals a likely line of internal debate that will emerge as FNM officials conduct their post-election review, with some expected to argue that third-party candidates contributed to the party’s poor performance.
Pintard closed his remarks by thanking the FNM’s extensive network of campaign workers, volunteers, financial donors, national headquarters staff, all candidates, and their families for their dedication and sacrifice throughout the election cycle. “To my wife and daughter, I want to say a special thank you, but the truth is, every one of our candidates has spouses and loved ones who stood with them,” he said. “To all of you who have stood beside and behind these candidates and workers, we extend a special thank you for the sacrifices you made, the price you paid right alongside them.”
He also offered a final note of gratitude to the voters of Marco City, who re-elected him to Parliament. “To the people of Marco City who have honored me with the privilege of representing you again, I want to say thank you,” he said. “I will continue to serve you with everything that I have. To every one of you in this room tonight, I recognize every day that I stand on your shoulders, that you have given me the rarest of opportunities to serve our community, and I will do so vigilantly.”