The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

VOTER registration centres in New Providence experienced long lines and wait times yesterday as people rushed to register before the next general election.

The uptick in registration comes amid increasing speculation that Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis is gearing up to call the election.

On Sunday, Progressive Liberal Party Leader Phillip “Brave” Davis told reporters he expects Dr Minnis to dissolve Parliament and announce an early election as soon as this week.

Dr Minnis brushed off this assertion yesterday, saying Mr Davis does not set the timeline for the next election.

Despite Dr Minnis’ public statements on the issue, political and government insiders similarly believe he will soon dissolve Parliament, with an election date to be announced sometime in the first three weeks of August.

Speculation of an early election prompted many Bahamians to rush to registration centres yesterday, braving the heat in hopes to register or make constituency transfers for the upcoming election.

Rashad Price, 30, was one of them.

Speaking to The Tribune at the Parliamentary Registration Department yesterday morning, Mr Price said he came to the voting centre to transfer constituencies after relocating to another area several months ago.

The 35-year-old said while he plans to vote in the upcoming election, he has not yet decided which party he will support.

He said both major political parties have failed the Bahamian people over the years and noted the country is in desperate need of a change.

“It’s been the same thing for years,” Mr Price said. “No results. Everyone suffering and with the pandemic, and I don’t know if it will be any changes and then when the representatives of the constituencies come around, you don’t see them.

“I been out of a job for a whole entire year so I’ve been trying to apply and I have not gotten any help from anybody so we need a change and I would like to see more involvement with helping people pay their rent and groceries and stuff and stop selling people’s dreams.”

One Bahamian woman, who asked to remain anonymous, told The Tribune she was at the registration centre to register her twin daughters, who are first-time voters.

The mother said her girls, both age 18, have disabilities.

She said after seeing a recent video online with Mr Davis calling for people to get registered, she made the decision to immediately get her daughters registered to vote.

However, she said the process has not been a smooth one, citing long lines and lengthy waiting times at several registration sites.

Many eligible voters also expressed frustration about the registration process yesterday.

Some told this newspaper they endured long lines in the hot, blistering sun only to be turned away by officials for allegedly not having all proper documents to register or make constituency transfers.

“We went to Town Centre Mall. There’s a great deal of people to be registered so now we’re here on Farrington Road and out here is unorganised,” the mother told The Tribune yesterday.

“What they should’ve done is had a line for first-time voters. They should have had a line with people with replacement cards and who have moved and what have you and so I don’t know how they’re going to assess these people out here and I think the process is slow,” she said.

Meanwhile, speaking about her reasons for voting in the next election, the mother said she is voting this election cycle for a better future for her children.

She said the country has suffered under the Minnis administration, which she claimed could have done a better job in its response to Dorian and COVID-19.

“(During the pandemic), a lot of people stood out there and stood in long lines. A lot of people were evicted from their homes, the government didn’t really assist them,” she said.

“People lost their homes so it put a strain on the country and strain on people like me so moving forward, now that I’m bringing my two kids here and I don’t want to deprive them and I think they need that experience and I’m going to make sure they go to the polls and vote for whenever (Dr) Minnis calls the election.”

Natasha Ferguson, 35, a mother-of four, shared similar sentiments yesterday.

“I think it’s very important to vote because right now this country is turned upside down because the money is moving slow,” she told reporters. “It ain’t no jobs. People still ain’t working. A lot of people from the hotels got laid off. They still ain’t gone back to work and this country right now ain’t making no sense and the government ain’t offering much assistance for the Bahamians or nobody in it so I’m ready to vote. It ain’t ever been this bad in years.”

Legislation passed earlier this year has allowed for a permanent voter register to be established for the first time in the country, meaning that people who registered to vote for the 2017 election will not need to register again.

Only those who are not on the 2017 register or who have moved to a different address from the one on their voter’s card are required to visit a Parliamentary Registration Department centre to register or transfer their registration to a new polling division or constituency where they now reside.

Unless called earlier, the next general election is expected to be held in May 2022.