Party Formation
The party was formed in late 1998 in Nassau, Bahamas and was officially launched in February 2000. The party's founders included: Cassius Stuart, Howard R. Johnson, Dario Roberts, George Carey and a number of then-students of the College of the Bahamas. The party was formed due to a strongly held belief among the founding group that Caribbean governments generally, and successive Bahamian governments specifically, failed to incorporate young persons (under the age of 30) in the decision-making processes of government at any level. This particular view stemmed from the fact that at that time over 60% of the country's population was under the age of 30 years. Stuart and his followers believed that it was incumbent upon the government to have young persons play a more significant role in the governance of the country as opposed to merely "using them for their votes" in the period leading up to general elections. Immediately following victory at the polls however, Stuart and his followers contended that young persons were given no official governmental roles with any real political power. The current leader of the BDM is Cassius Stuart. Mr. Omar Smith serves as Deputy Leader of the party.
Read more about this topic: Bahamas Democratic Movement
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