The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE Progressive Liberal Party yesterday doubled down on its criticism of the voter registration process, saying the new requirements for voters transferring constituencies are unnecessary and counterproductive.

During a press conference yesterday, the PLP’s candidate for Free Town, Wayne Munroe spoke about the level of frustration Bahamians have been experiencing during voter registration and accused the government of deliberately trying to make the process “more difficult”.

He said requiring voters who have lost their registration cards and transferees to produce a police record is simply wrong and not mandated by law.

Mr Munroe also reminded the public voters who transfer to a new constituency can legally vote in their former constituency up to one year after moving if they chose to do so.

“If you are a first time voter, you present yourself,” Mr Munroe told reporters at the PLP’s headquarters. “You tell them where you are living and you are registered at that address in that constituency. We have moved to a permanent register where the parliamentary commissioner has the counterfoil of every registered voter’s card but you’re being asked to produce your voter’s card or a police record if it’s been lost or defaced.

“There is no requirement in law for this to be done. In fact, it is counterintuitive. We all know that in the US, certain elements of the government (are) complaining that requiring voters to even produce identification is voter suppression. Imagine in the Bahamas, the parliamentary commissioner has the counterfoil of your voter’s card. It has all of your information. It has your picture, yet they are putting an added burden on voters to register and to transfer.”

Former Abaco resident Melanie Symonette told The Tribune yesterday she is not certain whether she will even vote in the upcoming election after being turned away by department officials for not having the proper documents to change her address.

“When I went to register, I had my old voter’s card and told them that I came from Abaco and I’m now here and I don’t know when I will be going back. I said to them I think I’m going to be here during the election so I would like to have my address changed, but when I went there, they told me to transfer (that) I needed a police record and all kinds of stuff,” she said.

“It’s very frustrating. I’ve been trying to get it since May and it’s too much of a headache to get it done.”

Yesterday, Mr Munroe said he believes there “is a deliberate attempt” to suppress voters – specifically Hurricane Dorian victims – who he claimed are fed up with the government.

“You must wonder why is this being done in this age. It seems to me that it is quite deliberate. It is deliberate because the government is quite aware that the persons. . .(from) Abaco and Grand Bahama will not be pleased with them and will likely be in the line to vote them out,” he said.

“They cannot say that we have not told them. The PLP in joining in this very vital exercise have expressed all of these concerns over and repeatedly so it’s either arrogant coupled with dumbness or more likely a deliberate attempt to disenfranchise persons who they are quite aware are lining up to vote them out.”

Mr Munroe also said he was shocked when he saw photos online, showing a transferee’s voter’s card being marked up with red ink to show constituency changes instead of a new one being issued.

He called the situation “terribly ugly” and “messy.”

He said: “It is amazing that everything else is being digitised. Every day they are bragging about how they’re digitising the way that you pay taxes…. They’re digitising nothing about you receiving benefits and now they’re not digitising this.

“And you don’t even have to rise to the point of digitising it. You just have to issue a replacement card so persons must be concerned. I am certainly concerned when I saw that and I thought it was a joke and if you are telling me that is how they’re seriously issuing these cards, then this government must be condemned for that... and what the government is telling the citizens is it cannot afford a piece of paper to make sure this thing is done properly.

“Either they are out of money or just don’t care,” Mr Munroe added.

In a statement released on Tuesday, PLP Leader Phillip “ Brave” Davis accused the government of voter suppression over the issue and called for a removal of the “burdensome” requirements.