The Tribune

By LETRE SWEETING

Tribune Staff Reporter

lsweeting@tribunemedia.net

THE West Grand Bahama and Bimini by-election must happen by November 25, according to acting Parliamentary Commissioner Arthur Taylor.

He said there are 5,682 people registered to vote in that constituency, which must replace Obie Wilchcombe, who died last month.

“From the date of the death, it’s 60 days,” Mr Taylor said about the timeline for the election. “When the writ is read, we have anywhere between 21 to 30 days to have the election.”

Registered voters who moved to West Grand Bahama and Bimini and resided there for over three months are eligible to transfer to vote there.

 Mr Taylor said over the last several weeks, more than 150 people have registered, and there have been over 50 transfers into the area.

 “We foresee when people announce the nominations, who they are proposing to put up for nomination and when the parties get on the ground and start campaigning, then we expect to see to everything pop up a bit,” he said.

 Scrutineering, the legally required process by which workers visit constituents to verify information and clean up the voter register, is ongoing.

 Mr Taylor said some 30-40 people will work the by-election, with each polling station having at least five to seven people. Currently, there are 14 polling stations, but Mr Taylor said this may expand for the convenience of people in Cat Cay and Ocean Cay.

 He declined to give details about an ongoing police investigation that resulted in two workers in his department being placed on administrative leave last Thursday.

 “We’re comfortable that it’s going to resolve itself shortly,” he said.

 “The integrity of the register is intact, and that’s what we’re aiming for, to make sure that we don’t have an issue. But that was never a real thing. This is something that has been going on since July.”

 “A question came up from Grand Bahama. We just needed to make sure it’s done properly, to have the police look into it and say if there is an issue here or if there is not one. I can’t go into details because they’re still investigating the matter.”