The Bahamas prides itself on a record of free and fair elections, and central to electoral credibility is the register of voters.
In its policy brief on confidence in elections and the acceptance of the results, the Kofi Annan Foundation (founded by the late United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan), stated that whether an election and its outcomes enjoy credibility in the eyes of the country’s citizens, will depend on factors including “the extent to which the election is professional, impartial, accurate and transparent in all stages of its administration.”
The brief continued, “Most elections produce results that merit acceptance even in the face of imperfections of varying degrees. In some cases, the numerical results (the vote count) can contain errors or inaccuracies, irrespective of underlying motivations, which may not affect the outcome.”
The process of producing a register of voters in The Bahamas that, to the greatest extent possible, is free of errors and purged of deceased and ineligible voters, is a mammoth task that ought to be continuous between election cycles.
Free and fair elections in The Bahamas do occur with a register that has some imperfections, but the extent of irregularities and errors as well as the political context thereof, can impact whether voters view a general election outcome as credible and thus, one that conveys legitimacy on the declared winner.
Moreover, widespread irregularities or inaccuracies can lead to chaos on Election Day, heightening risks of voter disenfranchisement, and undermining electoral credibility.
Of the legitimacy conveyed upon a government through the process of free and fair elections, Annan asserted, “Legitimacy is the crucial currency of government in our democratic
age … victory without legitimacy is no victory at all.”
The register of voters – now permanent – is the register that was used for the 2017 general election, and was consistently discredited by Free National Movement (FNM) Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis in the run-up to the last election.
Minnis argued that Bahamians feared a “rigged election” due to errors on the register, and said, “The register is in such disarray that we have no faith in the government’s ability to produce a clean register which is a prerequisite to a free and fair election …Bahamians are now forced to simply wait and hope that this government does in fact mitigate the hundreds of discrepancies in the voter register to ensure a fair election.”
A month before the May 2017 election, Minnis said he was “doubtful” a clean register could be produced, and then FNM chairman Sidney Collie indicated that the register contained 72 pages of duplicate names, people born over two centuries earlier, and registered voters who were born in the election year.
Collie also claimed that people were issued Bahamian citizenship and a voter’s card within the same day.
Yet, this is the register the Minnis administration determined, through its recent amendment to the Parliamentary Elections Act, ought to be made permanent and continuous.
On the matter of the register of voters, Perspective spoke with Acting Parliamentary Commissioner Lavado Duncanson and Opposition Leader Philip Brave Davis on the process of cleaning up the register of voters, and on the latter’s concerns as his party engages in its process of scrutiny that is both standard and necessary for parties and candidates contesting a general election.
Duncanson stressed that the cleanup process is ongoing, while Davis highlighted a number of key concerns
Purging the register
Duncanson advised that between 2017 and April 12, 2021, a total of 5,747 deceased voters had been removed or purged from the register.
He noted, “That is an ongoing process as far as receiving the information from the Registrar General’s [Department] and also from the National Insurance Board.”
Additionally under the act, all undertakers, morticians and directors of funeral homes are required to provide a monthly list to the parliamentary commissioner of all individuals buried in the previous month.
That list is to specify the names, dates of birth and death, addresses, and occupations of those interred.
Perspective had sight of an internal report for the period ending March 29, 2021 compiled by the opposition’s team, that listed 454 deceased voters still on the register in constituencies throughout the country.
The report listed 10 deceased voters in Bains and Grants Town; 12 in Bamboo Town; 12 in Carmichael; three in Cat Island, Rum Cay and San Salvador; 15 in Central Grand Bahama; 11 in Centreville; 22 in East Grand Bahama; 12 in Elizabeth; 13 in Englerston; 15 in Exumas and Ragged Island; nine in Fort Charlotte; nine in Fox Hill; 13 in Freetown; 10 in Garden Hills; eight in Golden Gates; 11 in Golden Isles; 12 in Killarney; 15 in Long Island; 14 in Marathon; 37 in Marco City; four in MICAL; 12 in Mount Moriah; nine in Nassau Village; 10 in North Abaco; 15 in North Andros and the Berry Islands; five in North Eleuthera; 21 in Pineridge; nine in Pinewood; nine in Sea Breeze; eight in South Andros and Mangrove Cay; eight in South Beach; four in South and Central Abaco; 14 in South and Central Eleuthera; nine in Southern Shores; 14 in St. Anne’s; nine in St. Barnabas; eight in Tall Pines; 15 in West End and Bimini; and nine in Yamacraw.
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