The Tribune

By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

OFFICIALS from the Parliamentary Registration Department have reported that nearly 10,000 eligible voters have registered for the upcoming general election over the last month, suggesting a sharp rise in those “frightening” low voter registration numbers reported in November.

Speaking to The Tribune on Monday, Parliamentary Commissioner Sherlyn Hall said that his department’s register has expanded to some 67,000 registrants, but stopped short of clarifying where those new registrants were located.

Despite being pressed for more information, Mr Hall would not say much on the new numbers, stating firmly: “We are now at 67,000, that is all I can say at this time.”

As of November 4, roughly 57,000 people had registered throughout the country, a number that was dwarfed by comparison to the same period ahead of the 2012 general election.

At the same point in 2011, 134,000 persons were reported to have been registered across the country.

At the closing of that register, April 2012, a little over 172,000 voters had been registered.

FNM Deputy Leader Peter Turnquest has taken issue with the government’s handling of the voter registration process

Recently, the East Grand Bahama MP insisted that the “issues” affecting the Parliamentary Registration Department was hindering registration numbers.

However, speaking with The Tribune yesterday, Mr Turnquest reflecting on those initial criticisms acknowledged what he termed the “traditionally laid back” nature of Bahamians as a major factor in low registration numbers to date.

He told this daily that he remains “confident” that Bahamians would eventually see the bigger picture and register to vote in larger numbers.

“We are traditionally a laid back people and do things last-minute,” he said. “If you would recall in 2012, there was similar slowness - not as slow - which necessitated the then Prime Minister (Hubert Ingraham) to go on a deliberate campaign to get people registered.”

He said both the government and the Official Opposition have to do their part to encourage voters to get more involved.

Mr Turnquest also suggested that the naming of Family Island candidates by major parties could aid registration numbers, implying that voters in those constituencies would be more inclined to register if they are aware of their options.

Over the weekend, political analyst and professor of English at the University of The Bahamas, Dr Ian Strachan speculated that the country could experience its lowest voter turnout in history, due to lack of faith in the current political system and “weak” alternatives to the current administration.

Speaking as a guest on 96.9 FM’s “Eye Opener”, Dr Strachan suggested that a “crisis of representation” could be the dooming factor for the next general election.

The 2012 register marked the largest in the country’s history.

According records, 172,085 persons registered to vote.

Of that number 118,236 (68 per cent) registered in New Providence, 26,966 registered in Grand Bahama and 26,883 in the Family Islands.