The Governing Free National Movement (FNM) documents voter 'errors' in forensic scrutiny of the Elizabeth voter register

By CANDIA DAMES ~ Guardian News Editor ~ candia@nasguard.com:



The errors on the Elizabeth voter register discovered by the Free National Movement during its forensic scrutiny are numerous, according to Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham.

In one instance, as documented by the party, the FNM discovered that one of the people registered to vote in the February 16 by-election moved out of the area years ago, and only returned two months ago after he and his wife separated.

He reportedly moved back in with his mother. The law requires voters to be ordinarily resident in a constituency for at least six months in order to vote.

The man's brother is also said to be registered, but he does not live in the constituency.

Another voter, the scrutiny shows, lives on the eastern side of Commonwealth Boulevard. While he lives in Elizabeth Estates, he is in the Yamacraw constituency.

These cases, according to senior FNM officials, can be replicated many times over, contaminating the voter register.

But Ingraham said his party and the government are determined to ensure the highly anticipated election is both free and fair.

"We are forensically going through the register and anyone who we have any questions about, we are seeking to contact them, to locate them, to obtain as much information as we can," he told The Nassau Guardian during an exclusive interview in his downtown office yesterday. "We've been doing this for a little while and we've been doing a very good job. I want to thank the people who are doing this for us. This is a political operation, so others may be shouting from the rooftop. We will be rejoicing on the 16th."

Ingraham said there is no higher duty for a prime minister to perform than to protect the country's democracy, to protect the sanctity and the ability of the people of The Bahamas to choose their government in a free and fair election and to have a register of voters that is as accurate as is humanly possible.

Since the 1992 election, the parliamentary commissioner has been required to make available to all candidates and political parties the register of voters for any constituency. The object of this is for parties and candidates to go through the register as it is being compiled to see whether they detect any errors or omissions in the register.

"I recall very vividly in 1992 I discovered that the register for one of my polling divisions, Grand Cay, had a number of names on it of persons I knew did not live there," Ingraham said.

"That was an innocent mistake, but the reality is that somebody had to check it to verify it...That is what we are doing with Elizabeth today.

"That is what we would have done for constituencies before now. We have discovered a number of errors and we are making them known to the registrar. We've discovered people who do not live in the constituency who show up on the register for the Elizabeth constituency. We've made that list available to the [parliamentary commissioner] and we are continuing the exercise, so that to the best of our ability we are able to identify and provide the [parliamentary commissioner] with any information we have about who is in the wrong polling division, who we have verified no longer live in the constituency or who've been able to show never did reside in the constituency, but who were included on the register of 2007."

Ingraham said the Free National Movement would likely make a statement on what it found during its scrutiny of the register.

He said that in 2007, former Prime Minister Perry Christie "fumbled and dropped" the ball, and failed to ensure the integrity of the general voter register.

"[Former Prime Minister the late Sir Lynden Pindling] had an election in 1992 with a clear register. I did so in 1997 and again in 2002. He (Christie) neglected to do his job," Ingraham charged.

"It is not possible for you to produce a register when you've changed the boundaries in a constituency at the time Mr. Christie did and expect to have a reasonably accurate register.

"No prime minister will call a general election without asking the parliamentary commissioner 'Is the register in order? Is it ready? What time do you need to get it in order?' so he could factor that in before he calls an election, but you must recall that Mr. Christie called an election on May 2, 2007.

"Mr. Bradley Roberts, the chairman of the PLP, was in Marsh Harbour, Abaco, swearing in Haitian nationals to become citizens of The Bahamas with them going to the commissioner's office on the same day, with them being registered to vote in the 2007 election because clearly he could not have known that Mr. Christie was going to dissolve the [Parliament and] those persons were unable to vote."

The Guardian asked Roberts yesterday to respond to this statement from the prime minister. Roberts said he recalled that at the time in question he was in Abaco on Ministry of Works business as he was minister at the time.

He said he recalls three people who needed to be sworn in — an American, a Haitian and a European — because their original swearing-in process had been "screwed up". He denied Ingraham's suggestion about what the motive for the swearing in of those nationals was.

Ingraham said yesterday, "Whatever is wrong with the register, Mr. Christie is responsible. I will never have an election called by me in The Bahamas where we're not satisfied that the register is in proper order. That's my duty to ensure that the people of The Bahamas' right to vote is never compromised as a result of negligence or carelessness or incompetence."

Ingraham noted that the Boundaries Commission reported on March 26, 2007 and the general election was called for May 2, 2007.

"It was not possible with the best of intentions to have an appropriate, accurate register in that short period of time," he said.

Parliamentary Commissioner Errol Bethel is scheduled to certify the Elizabeth register today, but candidates could still lodge any complaints about alleged voter fraud they may have.



February 05, 2010

thenassauguardian

Bahamas Blog International

Godfrey 'Pro' Pinder of the United Christian Love Revolution Movement sues over rejected nomination attempt

By Juan Mccartney ~ Guardian Senior Reporter ~ juan@nasguard.com:



Attorney Godfrey 'Pro' Pinder is refusing to give up his quest to take part in the Elizabeth by-election, or at least be acknowledged as a candidate.

On Wednesday, Pinder - who had planned to run on the United Christian Love Revolution Movement ticket - filed suit in the Supreme Court asking the court to overturn the January 29 rejection of his attempted nomination by returning officer Jack Thompson.

Pinder has appealed on 16 grounds.

This means that the rejection has been suspended and will be challenged after the by-election on February 16.

In the appeal obtained by The Nassau Guardian, Pinder details the happenings on nomination day that led to his nomination being rejected.

Last Friday, Pinder showed up to nominate two minutes before noon, which is when nominations would have closed. After already being late, Pinder paid the mandatory $400 deposit fee to nominate for the election with a personal check.

However, the government requires that deposits be paid with a bank-certified check or with cash.

Thompson therefore rejected the nomination.

Among the grounds of Pinder's appeal are that the nomination rules do not specify the particulars of the payment amount in terms of the currency in which the payment should be made; that the practice of charging $400 as a deposit for nominees is discriminatory toward the poor; that the true nature of the payment type was not properly outlined on the nomination form; that Thompson was on a "frolic of his own and acted with bias" and out of self interests; and that Thompson and possibly other respondents named in the suit acted contrary to the Parliamentary Elections Act.

Pinder also claims to have taken a Scotiabank-certified check to the office of Parliamentary Commissioner Errol Bethel on the same day that his nomination was rejected, only to allegedly have Bethel turn him away saying, "I cannot accept that."

In the appeal, Pinder also claims Thompson failed to first state the facts and grounds for his decision to reject Pinder's nomination before endorsing the rejection letter.

Pinder is also requesting that Progressive Liberal Party candidate Ryan Pinder's citizenship records be subpoenaed and entered into evidence. Pinder claims that Ryan Pinder holds both United States and Bahamian citizenship.

Up to press time yesterday, Bethel said he had yet to receive notice of the appeal.


February 05, 2010

thenassauguardian

Bahamas Blog International

Perry Christie - Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) leader: Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham threatened voters in Elizabeth Constituency

By CANDIA DAMES ~ Guardian News Editor ~ candia@nasguard.com:


Progressive Liberal Party leader Perry Christie last night accused Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham of making a veiled threat to constituents of Elizabeth, and suggested that the Free National Movement is losing significant ground as it faces what he called a voter backlash.

Christie referred to a recent statement made by the prime minister who urged Elizabeth constituents to vote for the FNM's candidate and pointed out that after the February 16 by-election the FNM will still be the government.

"That sounded to me like what he was saying was that if you expect to get anything out of this government you better vote FNM or you can forget it," Christie charged at a rally in Elizabeth last night.

"Sounded like he was saying if you vote PLP and elect Ryan Pinder, you better not think you can expect any help from the FNM. That sure was what the intended message sounded like to me."

Christie claimed that Ingraham was attempting to trade off of the tremendous suffering he (Christie) said exists in Elizabeth.

"Right now there are people in Elizabeth who find it hard to sleep at night not only because of worry over rising crime but for other reasons as well," he said.

"Many people are making themselves sick with worry over the fact that they don't have any way of helping their children prepare for the future as a result of what this FNM government did when it canceled the government scholarship scheme."

Putting a question to government ministers campaigning in Elizabeth, he asked: "Since you are saying you have the power to help people and that only the FNM is in a position to help the people of Elizabeth, well, then, let me ask all of you, what has been stopping you from helping them for these almost three years that you have been in power now?"

Christie told PLPs that they have a "wily and resourceful political enemy to contend with."

"They have lost more ground than they could ever have imagined possible. Each day finds them losing even more ground. They didn't count on this backlash from voters. They didn't think they would be getting the kind of poor reception they've been getting. This is turning into a nightmare for the FNM," he said.

Christie alleged that FNM candidate for Elizabeth Dr. Duane Sands was tricked by the FNM into believing that the race would be "easy pickings for him."

He charged that because things are going downhill "so bad and so fast for the FNM", the party is getting desperate "and they will get even more desperate as we get closer to election day."

The PLP leader said because the FNM is getting desperate "they are also getting dangerous."

"Believe you me the FNM have a lot more tricks up their sleeve," Christie told party supporters.

"They will try to do what it takes to win, no matter how much money or how many empty promises it may take. They will try to fool you and trick you and deceive you and mislead you right up to election day. They are not going to roll over and play dead. Don't believe that for a moment. Instead, they intend to pull out all the stops and go for broke."

Christie said this is why the PLP has to be on its guard.

Pinder — who Christie previously referred to as the poster boy for the new PLP — said that as MP, he would focus on youth development.

"As a young member of parliament sitting at the table where decisions are made about the direction of our country, you can be assured that I will be your voice, always mindful of programs and policies designed to ensure that my generation plays a meaningful role in the rewards and responsibilities of an expanding Bahamas," said the 35-year-old PLP candidate.


February 4, 2010


thenassauguardian

Bahamas Blog International

Rodney Moncur - Workers Party Leader: Dr. Duane Sands (FNM) is Disqualified from running in the up-coming bye-election in the Elizabeth Constituency

WORKERS PARTY
Elizabeth Constituency Election Headquarters Of
Rodney Moncur / February 2nd 2010
Duane Sands is Disqualified



Article 48, Section 1(j) of the Constitution of The Bahamas states that ” No person shall be qualified to be elected as a member of the House of Assembly who is interested in any government contract and has not disclosed the nature of such contract and of his interest therein by publishing a notice in the gazette within one month before the day of election.”

This is the supreme law of the land and, in the case of the up-coming bye-election in Elizabeth on February 16, 2010, this means that any one who contemplated running in the bye-election and who had a contract with the Government, had to make such a declaration in the Official Gazette on or before January 17, 2010, thirty days before the election.

That person should have then brought a copy of that Gazette to the Returning Officer on 29th January 2010, nomination day, as documentary evidence that he had complied with Article 28, Section 1(j).

On nomination day, Dr. Duane Sands declared before the Returning Officer in a letter dated 29 January 2010, that he owned shares in a medical company which had a contract with the Bahamas Government.

At no time before this, and in the stipulated time-frame did Dr. Sands disclose in the Gazette his interest as it related to this contractual relationship with the Government, although this disclosure is clearly stipulated by the Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land.

The first time that Dr. Sands disclosed his contract with the Government was on February 1st 2010, fifteen days too late, according to the Constitution; and this happened only because the disclosure was incidental in the Government Notice of Nomination in a Contested Election, published by the Parliamentary Registration Department.

I charge that the Returning Officer should have detected this flaw in the nomination of Dr. Sands, just as he detected a flaw in the nomination of Mr. Godfrey Pinder.

Once Dr. Sands had advised Mr. Jack Thompson, the Returning Officer, in his letter of 29 January 2010, that he had a contract with the Bahamas Government, Thompson should have then demanded, promptly and on the spot, evidence that Sands had complied with Article 48 1(j).

Unfortunately, he did not do this. And so Dr. Duane Sands, although in full violation of one of the fundamental rules of free and fair elections, is a candidate in the up-coming election.

This amounts to a grave travesty of democracy perpetrated on all the Bahamian people by the Free National Movement under Hubert Ingraham; and Dr. Duane Sands should disassociate himself from this shameful disgrace, withdraw from the race and return to his medical practice which this country so desperately needs.

I welcome political competition and I am not afraid of it. I have been in front line politics longer than all of the other candidates. However, the Constitution is the supreme law of the land and every citizen, and the Government as well, must adhere to the provisions therein.

I charge that Dr. Duane Sands is disqualified from running in the up-coming bye-election because he has not complied with the requirement of the Constitution as outlined in Article 48,1(j), which constitutes one of the fundamental qualifications of a candidate.

And I therefore call on Dr. Duane Sands to act honourably and drop out of the bye-election forthwith; he and all his FNM hosts.

Rodney Moncur
Candidate


February 2, 2010

Bahamas Blog International

Elizabeth by-election candidates declare assets

By Juan Mccartney ~ Guardian Senior Reporter ~ juan@nasguard.com:



Two of the five men vying for the Elizabeth seat in the February 16 by-election are millionaires, while one is in arrears with at least two government agencies, according to their declarations of assets that were gazetted in yesterday's edition of The Nassau Guardian.

The wealthiest of the five candidates running is Dr. Duane Sands, who is running on the Free National Movement ticket. Dr. Sands, a heart surgeon who is chief of surgery at the Princess Margaret Hospital, declared a net worth of $6.785 million.

Dr. Sands reportedly earns $455,000 per year and has extensive real estate holdings, as well as more than $3 million in equity in his medical practice.

The second wealthiest man on the list of candidates is Bahamas Democratic Movement (BDM) leader and business consultant Cassius Stuart. His net worth is listed at around $1.16 million dollars.

Stuart claimed to have more than $500,000 in real estate holdings, and about the same in the cash value of his life insurance policy. Stuart claimed an annual income of about $140,000.

Not too far behind Stuart is Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) candidate and tax attorney Ryan Pinder.

The 34-year-old's net worth is listed at just under $750,000.

Pinder, who claimed to bring in $220,000 per year, has about $900,000 in real estate holdings, but claimed mortgages on those holdings in excess of $725,000.

National Development Party (NDP) candidate and orthodontist Dr. Andre Rollins claimed a net worth of about $142,000.

That amount should put Rollins at the bottom of the list.

However, Rollins claimed nearly $1 million in assets, but it appears that hefty mortgages are affecting his bottom line.

Rollins claimed that he brings in about $80,000 a year.

Workers party leader and taxi driver Rodney Moncur, whose net worth is reportedly $152,000, should actually place him fourth on the list.

But Moncur's assets are nowhere near those of the other candidates.

In terms of income, Moncur claimed that he brings in about $615 per year.

And unlike his counterparts, Moncur also listed the individual value of his personal property.

Among that property is a dictionary he claims is worth five hundred dollars, as well as assorted fruit trees valued at $386 dollars. Moncur also claims to be in arrears with the Bahamas Mortgage Corporation and the Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC) to the tune of $1,200 each.

Parliamentary Commissioner Errol Bethel said the asset declarations are necessary so as to ensure that nominees who are participating in the race disclose everything about their financial lives to the public.

"We want to make sure that the nominees who are running are people who we can look up to as honorable persons," Bethel said yesterday. "And they are required by law to make a declaration as to what their assets are when they nominate for Parliament. The important thing is that people should be honest with these declarations. That's the most important thing."

Bethel admitted yesterday that the system of disclosure is not foolproof. He said there is no mechanism in place for the Parliamentary Registration Department to find out if a person is bankrupt, which would automatically disqualify them from being a member of Parliament.

"Nobody is bankrupt as far as we're concerned," he said. "Unless the person has actually been declared bankrupt. So when the person presents himself to us, the requirement of the law is that he presents certain documents and once those documents are in order and he presents the nomination fee ($400), then he is accepted as a candidate. And once the returning officer accepts these documents, then the person stands nominated as a candidate for the election."

As far as the validity of the declaration is concerned, Bethel said, "We don't do anything to verify that."

"There is a commission of public disclosure and if anybody is to check into that, it would be that body," he said. "But definitely not us."


February 2, 2010

thenassauguardian

Bahamas Blog International

Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Chairman Bradley Roberts calls National Security Minister Tommy Turnquest's claims about 'PLP operatives' baseless

By Krystel Rolle ~ Guardian Staff Reporter ~ krystel@nasguard.com:

Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Chairman Bradley Roberts yesterday challenged National Security Minister Tommy Turnquest to prove his claims that PLP operatives who do not live in the Elizabeth constituency are among the 700-plus new people on the voters register for that area.

"In our law he who alleges, must prove," said Roberts at a news conference at PLP headquarters yesterday afternoon.

"A minister is to be responsible, a minister is not to be reckless. A minister is not supposed to cast blame unless he has the facts and can justify what he is accusing people of. It is wrong morally, legally and otherwise to do something like that."

Turnquest, who is also the minister responsible for the Parliamentary Registration Department, told The Nassau Guardian on Sunday that he identified several of the people on the voters list as "PLP operatives" whose names are not supposed to be there.

"And I can assure you that as an FNM campaign worker for this election, we will not allow them to vote," Turnquest said.

Yesterday, PLP supporter and South Beach branch Vice Chair Ricardo Smith claimed that Turnquest approached him at a funeral and accused him of illegally registering to vote in the Elizabeth constituency. He also claimed that Turnquest threatened to have him arrested.

When contacted yesterday, Turnquest declined to address the issue further.

However, at the FNM's rally on Thursday, Turnquest told supporters that he confronted a PLP operative who he recognized as being on the register illegally and warned him against voting in the coming election.

Smith, who brought his voters card yesterday to the PLP news conference, denied being registered in Elizabeth.

"I'm registered in the Englerston constituency," he said. "I voted in polling division 15 (during the general elections). I still reside in the same place. I have no intention of voting in Elizabeth. I am not registered in Elizabeth. And I'm not in any way afraid of the FNM, Mr. Turnquest and whatever they intend to do in the line of intimidation in this election."

Roberts said a simple scrutiny of the register in Elizabeth would show that there are three Ricardo Smiths on the list. He said there's a Ricardo Allen Smith, a Ricardo Rolland Smith and a Ricardo Stephen Smith.

"It is clear that neither of these three individuals are Ricardo Bruce Smith who is seated here on my left," said Roberts pointing to Smith.

"The minister of national security who also has responsibility for the parliamentary registry has created a serious breach of his sacred obligation to the Bahamian people," said Roberts. "To make a baseless, groundless accusation when he simply had all the information available to him that he could've drawn a reasonable conclusion — and that conclusion [is] that this Ricardo Smith [is] not any of the three Ricardos that are registered to vote in the Elizabeth constituency."

Roberts said the process of identifying Bahamians who are rightfully registered to vote should be a simple matter for the government.

"Either you are a customer of BEC (Bahamas Electricity Corporation), you are a customer of the Water and Sewerage or BTC (Bahamas Telecommunications Company)," the PLP chairman said.

"The parliamentary commissioner has the ability to virtually check every single voter on the voters list throughout the commonwealth but we're dealing here today with Elizabeth."

He also said, "Mr. Tommy Turnquest decided for his own personal reasons to muddy the water by attributing blame to the PLP for having people deliberately register who are not residents of Elizabeth."

The Elizabeth seat became vacant when former Progressive Liberal Party MP Malcolm Adderley resigned from the House of Assembly on January 6. He also resigned from the PLP.

Tax attorney Ryan Pinder is running on the PLP's ticket, while Dr. Duane Sands is the FNM's candidate. Workers Party leader Rodney Moncur, Bahamas Democratic Movement (BDM) leader Cassius Stuart and National Development Party chairman Dr. Andre Rollins are also running.

Elections are expected to be held on February 16.

February 2, 2010

thenassauguardian

Bahamas Blog International

Minister of National Security Tommy Turnquest: 'PLP operatives' registering illegally in Elizabeth

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


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Bahamas Blog International