Ingraham had previously said he would resign effective Thursday, July 19, the anniversary of his first election to the House in 1977.
But The Guardian has learnt that while he will hand in his resignation letter this morning, that resignation will not take effect until the end of August.
A delay in his resignation would allow Greg Gomez — the Free National Movement’s preferred pick to run in the North Abaco by-election — to sort out his residency issue.
On Sunday, FNM Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis confirmed that Gomez does not yet meet the constitutional requirement to run for public office.
Gomez lived in the United States up until August 2011, according to Minnis.
According to the constitution, a person who is eligible to be elected to the House of Assembly must have been an ordinary resident of The Bahamas “for a period of not less than one year immediately before the date of his nomination for election”.
The delayed resignation could provide Ingraham an opportunity to attend Parliament again and even make a farewell address as former Prime Minister the late Sir Lynden Pindling did in 1997.
The delayed resignation could also impact Prime Minister Perry Christie’s plan to hold a referendum on gambling before the end of the year.
Christie said recently that the timing of that referendum will be impacted by Ingraham’s resignation because a by-election would take priority over the referendum.
Ingraham served for 19 nonconsecutive years as leader, the longest term in the history of the FNM.
