The Commonwealth Secretary-General, Hon. Shirley Botchwey, constituted a Commonwealth Observer Group to observe the 12 May 2026 general election in The Bahamas, following an invitation from the Government of The Bahamas. The COG was led by the Hon. Bruce Golding, former Prime Minister of Jamaica, who also led the COG for The Bahamas’ 2021 general election. The Group comprised four eminent Commonwealth citizens, supported by a staff team from the Commonwealth Secretariat.
This report offers a series of recommendations — some new, others reiterated from the 2021 COG — for the consideration of key stakeholders. These recommendations are offered in a constructive spirit and are tracked in Annex VII. They include, in particular, establishing an independent authority for the administration of voter registration and elections; enacting a comprehensive campaign finance framework; fully operationalising the Freedom of Information Act 2017; establishing clearer separation between government communication and partisan messaging in pre-election periods; supporting the adoption of a written code of conduct ahead of the next general election; the creation of an independent media association that can develop and administer a media professional electoral code of conduct; and continuing the modernisation of the voter register, including disaggregation by age and sex.
