GRAND BAHAMA, The Bahamas —House Speaker the Hon. Patricia Deveaux announced significant changes to several polling divisions on Grand Bahama and other parts of the country during the House of Assembly’s weekly sitting on Wednesday.
Deveaux tabled a boundaries report prepared by the Constituencies Commission, the independent body responsible for reviewing and adjusting constituency boundaries every five years. The commission ensures that constituencies remain fairly sized, population-balanced and reflective of changing communities. Deveaux also serves as chair of the Constituencies Commission.
As part of the new arrangement, two new constituencies; St. James and Bimini & the Berry Islands have been created, increasing the total number of parliamentary seats from 39 to 41. These new seats will take effect following the next general election, scheduled for 2026.
The changes will affect where residents vote, who represents them in Parliament and how political representation is distributed across the country. Voters who were previously part of the Killarney, Golden Isles, Tall Pines and Southern Shores constituencies will now fall under the newly created St. James constituency.
According to the report, the 2026 boundary adjustments were made to better reflect population shifts, geographic alignment and community connections. The most notable changes impact Grand Bahama, the Northern Family Islands and parts of Abaco.
One of the major changes involves West Grand Bahama, which is no longer grouped with Bimini. In Central Grand Bahama, Polling Divisions #2 and #10 were removed and reassigned to West Grand Bahama, leaving Central Grand Bahama with 12 polling divisions.
There were no changes to East Grand Bahama.
In Pineridge, there was a partial transfer of Polling Division #15 from Marco City to Polling Division #13 in Pineridge.
The newly formed Bimini and Berry Islands Constituency now includes the Berry Islands, which were previously part of North Andros. Additionally, Polling Divisions #8, #9, #10 and #11 were moved from West Grand Bahama and reassigned to this new constituency.
This merger creates a distinct northern Family Islands constituency, grouping island communities with similar geographic and social interests.
In an effort to balance voter numbers and improve constituency size equality, South Central Abaco received Polling Divisions #10 and #11 from North Abaco.
With preparations for the 2026 General Election now underway, the country looks ahead to a new electoral map across The Bahamas.
