The Tribune

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Deputy Chief Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

FREE National Movement Chairman Sidney Collie was adamant yesterday that he “doesn’t put anything past” the Progressive Liberal Party led government, while suggesting that it was operating a form of “voter suppression” ahead of the 2017 general election.

Amid reports that some women have been turned away from registration sites because of “improper” attire, Parliamentary Commissioner Sherlyn Hall last week defended the right of his staff not to process people because of their clothing, telling The Tribune women registering to vote with “half their breasts out” is not permitted.

In response, Mr Collie said the practice flew in the face of both the Bahamas Constitution and the Penal Code.

Neither of these, Mr Collie said, gives any government agency claim to deny a Bahamian citizen the right to exercise their rights.

And while Mr Hall should handle the affairs of his office independently, Mr Collie asserted that this has not been the case as politicians direct him.

“Now when it comes to the motive of the PLP I won’t put anything past them,” Mr Collie told The Tribune during an interview yesterday. “So I wonder why the parliamentary commissioner’s staff would turn away female voters who they say are exposing too much breast.

“Under the Constitution and under the Penal Code, a woman could dress any way she wishes unless it offends public decency. If it offends public decency, it is for the police or the court. Now the court will say to a woman if she comes in or even to a man you are not properly dressed to appear in this court go and cover up. “But no government agency has any constitutional or penal right to deny a Bahamian citizen the right to exercise their franchise and that is what it amounts to. Denying the female gender the right to register in order to exercise their free will franchise and that’s definitely a no, no and can’t be tolerated.”

He also touched on low voter registration.

“In the last election, 170,000 persons registered, but right now we are at a deficit of 100,000 persons as just around 75,000 people are now registered at this point,” Mr Collie said. “We have a few months to go and you are going to tell me you are going to turn people away because they dress a certain way and it isn’t even within your legal authority to turn them away? It doesn’t make any sense at all.”

In a statement released on Friday, Mr Collie also called the situation “disgraceful”.

He said the fact that women were being turned away because of how they are dressed is unethical and very possibly illegal.

“This is disturbing and the government owes this country and the women being disenfranchised an apology. We call on (Prime Minister) Perry Christie and his government to clearly apologise at once and publicly address how they plan to fix this issue,” he said in a press release at the time.

“The Free National Movement wants a free and fair election that is free of any suspicious activities and that all eligible Bahamians are registered to vote.

“The Bahamian people are ready to rid themselves of this inept and corrupt PLP government and they should be given every chance to register to do so. The FNM continues to encourage every Bahamian to register to vote so that they have the opportunity to vote when the election is called,” Mr Collie said.

This came after a pregnant woman who did not want to be identified, told The Tribune she was told by registration officials at the Elizabeth Estates Post Office that she would not be allowed to register to vote on separate occasions because of what she was wearing at the time.

On her second attempt she went into the post office wearing an ankle length maxi dress, but was still not permitted to begin the process.

Returning for a third try, the expectant mother wore a jacket and was still told that she was too bare, so she had to put on a scarf in order to be registered.

The Parliamentary Elections Act makes no mention of dress code.

Questioned about this last Thursday, Mr Hall suggested that people may have been turned away and pointed to the public service having a “dress code” for how people are to present themselves in public.

“Because you have to take photographs, so if someone comes with half their breasts out and cleavage showing, this isn’t permitted,” Mr Hall said.

“This has been around not just under my administration but other previous ones where we ask people to dress in decency and in order. So if my people feel that someone is not properly dressed for the photograph, we ask them to kindly put on the proper attire. That’s not out of order. It’s trying to help them. So it’s not to be rude, it’s to make sure that things are done in decency and in order,” Mr Hall added.

For her part, Official Opposition Leader Loretta Butler-Turner on Friday rebuked Mr Hall for defending “nonsensical,” “wrongheaded” practices, which bordered on illegal.

She further demanded that Mr Hall explain the provision in law governing the enforcement of a dress code being used to hamper and obstruct the democratic right of a citizen to freely register to vote. This, Mrs Butler-Turner said, is highly arbitrary and undemocratic.

When he was contacted yesterday, Mr Hall refused to answer any questions regarding the dress code being enforced by his office.