Name: Dwaynell Adderley

The general elections of 1962 were historic because it was the first general election in which women voted ,PLP actually polled a majority of votes cast although it won significantly fewer seats than the incumbent United Bahamian Party (UBP). In that election , the PLP polled 32,261 votes or approximately 44 percent , winning only eight seats , compared to the UBP which polled 26,500 votes or 36 percent , but winning 18 seats. The Labour Party polled 3,049 votes which represented four percent , winning only one seat. Several reasons were given for the PLP’s defeat, notwithstanding its decisive plurality. Clearly there was considerable gerrymandering of seats, allocating a larger number to the Out Islands where it was much easier for the governing party to influence voting behavior by economic threats and political intimidation. In addition, many voters were still out of the colony “on the contract ” and, finally , there was a level of trepidation and concern about the ability of black government to govern and maintain the level of political and economic stability to which the colony had become accustomed. The victory by the UBP resulted in deep-seated racial polarization for the next five years.
The next five years would witness considerably greater political activism in anticipation of the general elections in 1967. The PLP organized and orchestrated its activities with pin-point precision to maximize its political agenda . On February 4, 1965, during the debate on the report of the Constituencies Commission to which the PLP objected , Milo Butler and Arthur D. Hanna , both PLP members of the House