Perry Christie is the Bahamas new prime minister

Bahamian prime minister Perry Christie.

Nassau, Bahamas (TDN) -- Perry Christie has replaced former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham as the Bahamas prime minister. Ingraham who served three non-consecutive terms as prime minister said he was "shocked" at his Free National Movement party's defeat in national elections, and did not see it coming.

"I gave it the best I could and now I've been rejected by the public of the Bahamas," Ingraham told The Miami Herald. "We had no indication from the general public they would go that way," He said.

Perry is a longtime political rival of Ingraham and his Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) won an easy victory. He promised to tackle the high level of unemployment in the country telling the public on his swearing in that "my colleagues and I will leave no stone unturned in our common pursuit of a brighter future for all of you."