By Candia Dames ~ Guardian News Editor ~ candia@nasguard.com:
With the by-election in Elizabeth just over two weeks away, campaigners upped their efforts over the weekend to win over voters and locate people who registered in the constituency since Malcolm Adderley won the seat in 2007.
According to Minister of National Security Tommy Turnquest, some of the 700-plus new people on the voter's register for Elizabeth are Progressive Liberal Party operatives who do not live in the constituency.
Turnquest, who is also the minister responsible for the Parliamentary Registration Department, told The Nassau Guardian yesterday, "I don't know that the department can identify them.
"I have identified them as PLP operatives, and I can assure you that as an FNM (Free National Movement) campaign worker for this election, we will not allow them to vote.
"What I do also say is that the Parliamentary Registration Department and its workers have gone out throughout the constituency knocking on doors to identify persons in the constituency who are on the register, so they have also been trying to find out those people who do not live in the area."
PLP chairman Bradley Roberts said yesterday he knows of no PLP operative who has registered in Elizabeth who does not live there.
Roberts also said he is not aware of any FNM operative who has registered in the constituency but lives somewhere else.
"I understand that they (PLP campaign teams) are finding some people who we haven't been able to find before. They are still doing their work in trying to locate all of them," Roberts said.
Turnquest said he doubts that the problem of people from other constituencies having registered to vote in Elizabeth is widespread.
"There are just over 700 persons (who are new to the Elizabeth register); there are about 340-odd persons that have transferred in; there are about 360-odd that are new voters and there are a number of persons who are on the register who would have moved out more than six months ago," he said.
"They just haven't taken any initiative to take their name off the register. That doesn't mean that they're going to show up to vote. They are not legally entitled to vote in the by-election and I will presume that the vast majority of them have no intention of showing up to vote and breaking the law."
The Elizabeth-by election comes two years after the Pinewood Election Court challenge uncovered significant flaws in the parliamentary registration system.
The justices of the Election Court said the case had exposed "the most egregious failures in the parliamentary system."
"The parliamentary commissioner failed, for whatever reason, to ensure the integrity of the registration process in Pinewood," the ruling said.
"...This case also revealed that far too many Bahamians are willing to take an oath without regard to truth and their promises before Almighty God."
Parliamentary Commissioner Errol Bethel has said repeatedly that his department is doing all it can to ensure the integrity of the system as the first by-election in the country in a dozen years approaches.
Turnquest acknowledged yesterday that some challenges may arise because some of the Elizabeth streets are not named, but insisted that the Parliamentary Registration Department is committed to ensuring the integrity of the system.
Monday February 1, 2010
thenassauguardian
A political blog about Bahamian politics in The Bahamas, Bahamian Politicans - and the entire Bahamas political lot. Bahamian Blogger Dennis Dames keeps you updated on the political news and views throughout the islands of The Bahamas without fear or favor. Bahamian Politicians and the Bahamian Political Arena: Updates one Post at a time on Bahamas Politics and Bahamas Politicans; and their local, regional and international policies and perspectives.
