BPSU candidate contests election results

BPSU candidate contests election results

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — A candidate in the Bahamas Public Service Union General Elections has contested the results of Tuesday’s vote which saw the unofficial return of incumbent president Kimsley Ferguson.

In the letter to Director of Labor John Pinder, dated September 30, Alexander Burrows Jr, presidential candidate of the (People Organizing With Effective Results) P.O.W.E.R Team, outlined a series of discrepancies with the election.

“Mr. Ferguson assumed the role of chairperson of the Electoral Committee, as a result of the entire process was flawed,” Burrows said.

“For example, in Grand Bahama, our team was denied the opportunity to review spoilt ballots.

“Continually, representatives of teams were not allowed to verify the marked ballots, in particular, the spoiled ballots.”

Burrows noted that among the other concerns with the process of the election was the voter registration list.

He said the list was submitted to candidates less than a week before the actual election and not the usual three months.

“As a former five-term president of the BPSU. you are quite aware that his conduct has threatened not only the integrity of the electoral process but the future governance of the BPSU,” he told Pinder.

Additionally, he noted that two candidates on Ferguson’s teams are retirees and are not eligible for candidacy, according to the BPSU constitution.

“It is our view that the correct interpretation of the BPSU constitution is that retirees cannot participate as candidates in any union election relative to the BPSU.”

Burrows also pointed to previous correspondence to the director where he advised that Ferguson chose a logo and not a symbol as his electoral sign, which goes against Bahamian electoral law.

He also said while it was agreed that the names of the candidates on the ballots be placed alphabetically, but that was not done.

“Mr. Pinder, we appreciate that Mr. Ferguson served as your executive vice president when you last served as president of the BPSU,” Burrows added.

“This we accept as a possible conflict, and in the normal course, you should have recused yourself from any direct involvement in this election.

“You have not, therefore we are requesting that you stand by the side of right and declare the union election held on September 29, 2020, null and void.

“We further request that you use your good office to ensure that any future election is fair and that any incumbent does not use his office as president to take actions to disenfranchise thousands of public officers that what a change.”

Pinder could not be reached for comment on the matter up to press time.

About Sloan Smith

Sloan Smith is a senior digital reporter at Eyewitness News, covering a diverse range of beats, from politics and crime to environment and human interest. In 2018, Sloan received a nomination for the “Leslie Higgs Feature Writer of The Year Award” from The Bahamas Press Club for her work with Eyewitness News.

1 comments

JUSTICE DELAYED IS JUSTICE DENIED .. THEN THE COURTS MUST DECIDE WHO IS RIGHT AND WHO IS WRONG … SELAH

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