The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

STAFF of the Parliamentary Registration Department who deny people the ability to register to vote because of their dress must be sent home, National Security Minister Dr Bernard Nottage said in the House of Assembly yesterday.

Although Dr Nottage, who has responsibility for elections, said he has instructed Parliamentary Commissioner Sherlyn Hall to send staff home who have set baseless criteria limiting people’s ability to register to vote, he said “people are still doing it”.

His comments came as he gave a comprehensive description of the government’s efforts to boost registration efforts, he said, that have largely failed to produce the desired outcome.

Indeed, low voter registration has become a major theme ahead of the next general election, stifling the pace at which the Constituencies Commission could complete its report on constituency boundaries and prompting debate about why Bahamians aren’t registering to vote at their usual pace.

“This business about what you wearing and so forth is for me very ridiculous,” Dr Nottage said amid a discussion in the House about voter registration and the work of the Constituencies Commission.

“Whoever it was who decided that they could tell people how to dress to register was taking into their hands something which they don’t have the authority to do. After it came to my attention that people were being denied registration because someone decided that they were showing too much skin, I think the member for East Grand Bahama, I can see him, sitting at home trying to determine how he’s going to surprise himself, but naked to register. But you don’t need to go that far. No one has that authority, not the parliamentary registrar, not a revising officer, they don’t have that authority and there are I think occasions and people are still doing it, even though I told the parliamentary registrar that if they do it send them home.

“Some people believe they are doing you a favour to provide you with a service and that is something that I’m really sick and tired of; seeking to make people feel like they doing you a favour to register you. They actually get paid to do that. I’ve heard stories about the Marathon Mall. I’ve heard several stories about the Cable Beach Post Office. But they don’t have that authority and the parliamentary commissioner, he knows he doesn’t have that authority and his job is to make it possible for people to register to vote. So we will continue to do the very best we can do in that regard. I think the people who have a lot of influence on people getting registered are members of Parliament, and I suggest we do our very best to get some accelerated registration.”

Dr Nottage explained that in response to the “unprecedented” pace of registration, the government has sought to make it more convenient for people to register by increasing registration sites and reducing restrictions.

“Registration has been slow,” he said. “Registration is taking place at the parliamentary headquarters, is taking place at many of the popular buildings, BEC, National Insurance, post offices throughout New Providence, Grand Bahama, and, of course, in many of the Family Islands.

“Registration continued to be slow. We then determined that we would have to open registration centres at night. We’ve done so. In New Providence, we started registration in 23 additional locations, particularly in the evening . . . now we have at least 23 locations, one in each constituency so that you wouldn’t have to go outside of your constituency. But in addition to that, registration has continued in other buildings. Registration continued to be slow. Now, the Boundaries Commission normally would not report until such time as the commission has access to the information that it needs to determine whether there needs to be any changes and the principal thing they are looking at I think is the volume of registrants. The member for Montagu rightly says we don’t want to have an election on a low count of registered voters,” Dr Nottage said.

“But the question is, how to compel people to go and register? We have advertised regularly on the radio; we’ve tried slots on television and radio; we’ve put billboards around New Providence. We’ve employed more staff. There’s been no shortage of staff for registration. We can provide as many people as we need to register people.”

He continued: “There are people who I have gone personally to each registration centre and watch the process. The process is long in some cases but you want people who are registered to be eligible for registration. The reason people asked for passports is only because a passport signifies a person is a citizen of the country. When we normally have these restrictions, we’ve removed these restrictions. You can register now with your 2012 voter’s card alone. Now, you keep hearing people speaking about you need a birth certificate or you need a passport and the point is that if you were registered on the 2012 register that will make you eligible to be on the new register. But there has been no consideration as far as I’m aware of using the 2012 register because that would come itself with a lot of difficulties.”

Dr Nottage said one strategy that could boost voter registration is parliamentarians engaging the staff at the Parliamentary Registration Department to come into their communities.

“Those of us who are really concerned,” he said, “I suggest we encourage our constituents. For instance, take them to register. That’s what I did. On Saturday morning, I got the parliamentary registrar to send a team to Taylor Street in my constituency and people came to register and I was quite surprised with the volume and these are the same people who haven’t been responding to pleas for them to come and register. The people have just been walking from their home and coming to Salem Baptist to register.”

Nonetheless, Dr Nottage said that even as limitations are relaxed, officials must ensure ineligible people are not allowed to register.

“We will continue to do our very best efforts to make it possible for people to register with the least of obstructions,” he said. “You have to remember you don’t want people to be voting in the election who are not eligible to vote. We know that in elections in the Bahamas the political parties themselves do a pretty good job of sorting out people who are not eligible to register and who do so. That’s what these election court cases are often about because people are permitted to register who should not have been able to register. It is my hope that whatever else needs to be done we will do it to get people to register, but we can’t compel them to do so.

“We have to also recognise that this is unprecedented because normally when elections are announced people go and register. Well, we are in a season where the people are not going. I’ll leave that to you to answer. Maybe they don’t want to vote for whomever. So registration is the biggest issue we have right now; getting people to agree to be registered. It isn’t a question of being able to register or having access to register. They have to decide to do it. I would recommend that if any of you have constituents who are not registered and you can get them to agree to go and register somewhere in your area, if you get in contact with the parliamentary registrar then he will make it possible for a team to come and set a location in the constituency, or at business houses, or at churches, at government corporations, you set up a register. They’ll be there all day if possible.”