Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival was supposed to take place between May 4 and 6 in New Providence. Organizers planned around that date. People bought supplies. Visitors booked tickets.
Prime Minister Perry Christie yesterday confirmed that the dates for carnival had been "suspended or extended" due to the approaching general election. The change in festival dates was first reported in this newspaper on Monday.
Bahamas National Festival Commission (BNFC) Chairman Paul Major also confirmed yesterday that carnival is being postponed. He told The Nassau Guardian that when the commission realized that Parliament was about to be dissolved and there would be so many rallies, it thought a postponement would be best so that carnival wouldn't have to compete with political rallies.
The Office of the Prime Minister announced on Sunday night that Parliament will be dissolved next Tuesday, but no election date was revealed.
Last night Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival announced on Instagram that the new dates are May 18 to 20. It is unclear if these are the final dates or if they will change again.
We think the real reason the carnival date is being adjusted is the prime minister realizes the event is unpopular with a significant part of the electorate. They think the tens of millions of dollars the Christie administration has spent on carnival could have been better spent on more worthwhile projects during these tough times.
The initial dates would have had carnival just days before the likely election time. No leader who wants to be re-elected would allow a controversial event to take place that would anger many citizens just before they vote.
The problem Christie faces by changing the dates so close to when the festival was scheduled, in an attempt to appease those who dislike carnival, is he has now annoyed his supporters who make money from or through carnival. Short notice event cancellations cause havoc. It's hard to rebook trips, to change accommodation reservations, to get new time off from work. Vendors have to reschedule the hiring of staff and preparation of their goods.
If the ruling Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) schedules carnival for after the election, we wonder if it will ever happen. The Free National Movement (FNM) has said it would privatize the festival. The FNM is opposed to pumping millions of dollars of public money into the event. A Prime Minister Hubert Minnis might cut his losses and cancel it all together.
The prime minister confused his people with this last-minute carnival change. We wonder if he can make them happy again, or if some of them too have now lost confidence in his ability to lead.

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