The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

PARLIAMENT was dissolved yesterday as scores of Bahamians waited for hours in long lines on the final day of voter registration ahead of the May 12 general election.

Police Commissioner Shanta Knowles read the proclamation from Governor General Cynthia “Mother” Pratt outside Parliament. The next session is set for May 20.

At the Parliamentary Registration Department, people packed into the foyer as rain fell outside. Many described a slow and frustrating process.

Moses McKenzie, who has lived in Canada for a decade and has been back in The Bahamas for about two months, said rising costs are weighing on his decision as he prepares to vote.

“I feel like inflation in The Bahamas is crazy, like I look at the gas stations yesterday, $6.50 for fuel,” he said. “So inflation is just killing us over here.”

Chrastina Rox said she waited about two-and-a-half hours to register, describing the process as organised but slow.

She said she had started registering about two months ago but had to return after a technical issue caused her information to be lost. She said she was still considering who to vote for in Southern Shores, adding that the PLP’s candidate, Obie Roberts, had said things she supports, such as focusing on mental health issues and advocating for women.

First-time voter Mario Knowles said he registered under pressure from his parents and after visits from political party workers.

He pointed to conditions in the Family Islands as a key concern.

“In my 24 years being on this earth, it doesn’t make any sense to me, especially medically wise, why our Family Islands only have clinics available,” he said. “There is no possible way they still only have clinics.”

At the Town Centre Mall registration site, wait times stretched long, with more people expressing frustration.

Marco Ricardo Bell said he had been waiting nearly three hours and was told he could be there until 10pm. He said he would leave if the process did not improve and that he would likely not vote again.

Nadia Bevans, a mother of five, said it was her fifth attempt to register. She said she received inconsistent information about registration times and had been turned away on previous days, even though she arrived before the cut-off.

She arrived shortly after 8am and left close to noon, noting the process was less chaotic than before.

She said support for entrepreneurs is a key issue for her vote.

“During the pandemic, I lost my business, I lost my home and everything like that,” she said. “So it was like I was just starting back over again. I'm a beautician.

“It’s like I can't find nobody to even to help me, to even fund my business, to bring it back up, or anything like that. It's like everybody just want go work for the government, but it ain't no help when it comes for persons who want to work for themselves.”

She said she plans to vote for the Coalition of Independents.

Veronica Ferguson, a mother of three, said caring for her special needs child made it difficult to find time to register, but she was determined to complete the process. She said she plans to support her MP, Glenys Hanna-Martin in Englerston.

At the Cable Beach Post Office, long lines formed as well.

R Smith, an entrepreneur and Fort Charlotte voter, said she is concerned about the challenges facing small and medium-sized businesses and wants to see action to ease the cost of doing business.

“I’m very grossly disappointed in the FNM, it’s almost as if we don’t have an opposition,” she said. “Therefore, you almost leave the Bahamian people with only one choice.”

She said she supports Progressive Liberal Party’s candidate Sebas Bastian.

Meanwhile, PLP chairman Fred Mitchell said he expects a peaceful election and was advised that the writ of election will be issued today.