The Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival will be rescheduled to take place May 18th-20th, which is after the expected date of the country’s general elections, the Journal has learnt.

The announcement is expected to be confirmed in a press conference later today, according to a source close to the event.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Perry Christie confirmed the controversial postponement of Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival this year.

His comments came while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the renaming of Thompson Boulevard to University Boulevard.

When prompted to respond to the notion of the possible election date affecting carnival, he said the Commission met and agreed to suspend or extend the date because of the possibilities.

“I’m advised that the Carnival Commission has met and agreed because of the pending possibilities to suspend or extend the date for Carnival, I do not know the dates they have chosen but is my understanding that has been done,” Mr. Christie said.

After information of the possible postponement leaked to multiple media outlets, the general public became incensed over this possibility.

The Journal reached out to the Bahamas National Festival Commission’s Chief Executive Officer Roscoe Dames, who said he could not make an official statement at the time, but did indicate that the date for the event will be postponed.

The Journal also spoke to the leaders of two carnival groups, Trevor Williams the leader of the Fusion Mas Band and Dario Terelli leader of Rhythms Bahamas who both indicated that they were still in the dark and was waiting on an official confirmation from the government.

Both leaders said they were disappointed with the revelation.

Last week, it was revealed that Trinidadian singing stars Machel Montano and Bunji Garlin were expected to headline this year’s Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival, but it seems that it is now up in the air.

It was also revealed that the government has reduced subsidy to the festival by as much as 50 percent.

Last year, taxpayers contributed about $8 million to the festival, which brought in $578,342 in revenue, costing more than $9.8 million overall.

In 2015, the government spent $11.3 million on the inaugural festival, going over its initial budget of $9 million, with the rest covered by sponsors.

The first Junkanoo carnival cost $12.9 million overall.

Some 39,700 people attended the festival in Nassau last year and 21,000 in Grand Bahama.

On Sunday, We March Bahamas staged its third protest to – among other things – demanding that an election is called before May 7 and the postponement of Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival.

In a Facebook post, the civic group mentioned the successes of its two previous protests, noting that efforts mounted by the group had averted several major events.