The Tribune

By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

FORMER Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham said the rise in cases of people being found with fraudulent documents ahead of the general election are “alarming” even as he stopped short of suggesting the election could be stolen, as others in the Free National Movement have said.

Mr Ingraham spoke to reporters after casting his vote in the advance poll, where he was asked about concerns surrounding the voter registry and a series of recent arrests involving fraudulent passports and voter cards.

“That's alarming,” he said.

While acknowledging the concerns, Mr Ingraham indicated he does not believe the electoral system can be easily manipulated to change the outcome of an election, urging people to “come out and vote.”

“But I am concerned about how large numbers of people it appears have got access to Bahamian passports and other such documents, and that is a very concerning matter,” he said.

His remarks come after the FNM also highlighted irregularities with the voter register, such as duplicate registrations and people listed with birth dates.

Mr Ingraham said he hopes those issues reflect incompetence rather than deliberate wrongdoing.

Former Prime Minister Perry Christie also weighed in yesterday, arguing that safeguards within the electoral system make widespread fraud unlikely.

“It's very difficult, if not next to impossible, to have the kind of fraud that they're talking about in our voting system here and it hasn't happened before, it’s not going to happen now,” Mr Christie said.

“It's politics, and I suppose it's an issue that political parties deem to be favourable to people in talking about it, and so they do it.”

He added that the country’s electoral history, including the rarity of consecutive election wins by one party, reflects voter choice rather than manipulation.

The issue has gained prominence in recent months, with several arrests involving people found with fraudulent identification.

On April 15, a Parliamentary Registration Department employee was accused of helping a Haitian woman obtain a voter’s ID and of possessing five blank voter cards.

On April 27, a Dominican man was charged with fraudulently obtaining a Bahamian voter’s card and passports, the latest in a string of such cases.

In April, National Security Minister Wayne Munroe said public officers found guilty of passport fraud could face up to ten years in prison if the Progressive Liberal Party is given a second term.

Despite the growing number of cases, opposition leader Michael Pintard has continued to raise concerns about document fraud under the current administration, though he has not clearly outlined what specific measures he would implement to address the issue.