More than 170,000 registered to vote

Wed, Apr 4th 2012, 09:30 AM

More than 170,000 Bahamians have registered to vote, exceeding the projected figure, Parliamentary Commissioner Errol Bethel revealed yesterday.
Bethel told The Nassau Guardian more than 100 people register on a daily basis in New Providence.
Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Chairman Bradley Roberts said the numbers indicate that people are anxious to vote.
"The PLP urges the prime minister to call elections," he said.
"Ingraham has five years and he is not to go a minute over that... The government has not performed."
Democratic National Alliance (DNA) Chairman Mark Humes came to a similar conclusion.
"I agree that people are tired of the government," he said.
However, he added that "they are also tired of the opposition".
"What you see is a lot of people who wouldn't ordinarily have voted are coming forward," Humes said.
"The numbers are a clear indication that Bahamians are going to do something that neither the PLP nor the FNM parties is expecting.
"People now have a choice. What you see is new voters coming out to get rid of both of those parties. In 2007 the numbers weren't this high. This new group is a manifestation of what is to come."
Asked his thoughts on the registration number, Free National Movement (FNM) Chairman Carl Bethel declined to comment.
But Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham recently said it is clear that the FNM has more support than the opposition.
Last week, Ingraham said he intends to announce the election date on or before May 2.
Bethel, the parliamentary commissioner, said he is not surprised that his projection has been exceeded.
Just under 12,000 people have registered to vote in the last month.
In 2007, just over 150,000 people had registered for that election.

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