“It’s going to be the biggest advance polls in the history of the country”
Dames: Govt looking to introduce technology to make early voting process easier
NASSAU, BAHAMAS — As voters rushed to register for the upcoming general election this week and as the government said it was anticipating 40,000 people to register for the advance polls, Deputy Prime Minister Desmond Bannister has assured Election Day will run “without flaws”.
“What we celebrate is that so many people rushed out to register to vote; that means when you elect a government, it is indicative of the wish of the people,” he told reporters.
“In that process, you will find that there are challenges and when you find there are challenges, we have to work to improve them.
“When we have the advance polls in the election coming up, it’s going to be the biggest advance polls in the history of the country.
“It’s going to be multiples more than we’ve ever had in an advance poll, and so you are going to have some challenges that we are going to work our way through now to be able to ensure that we have an Election Day that runs without flaws, without any problems.”
Bannister pointed to the 2017 advance polls, labeling the ordeal a “mess”.
In its preliminary recommendations following its 2017 electoral observation mission to The Bahamas, the Organization of American States noted some issues related to the delivery of the advance poll. It expressed its concern regarding the lapse in the contract of the parliamentary commissioner, and the designation of a new commissioner just five days before the general election.
Bannister insisted yesterday: “We are going to assure you that this advance poll — which has many, many more people — we are going to ensure that it is nothing like that.”
The government passed the Parliamentary Election (Amendment) Bill, 2020, in December, which made the voter’s register from the last general election in The Bahamas a permanent register.
Under the new regulations, a registered voter or person entitled to vote who is aged 65 and older would be considered a special voter and be allowed to vote in the advance poll.
On Tuesday, Minister of National Security Marvin Dames, who has responsibility for elections, predicted that nearly 40,000 people will participate in early voting as a result of the amendments in the act.
“We have to look at the number of centers. We have to ensure that our operations team behind the scenes is in place and we’re also looking at introducing this technology that will make the job much easier,” he said.
“The days of handwriting everything is cumbersome. It’s antiquated and we’re hoping for this advance poll, whenever the prime minister decides to call the election, that we will have technology driving the results and the outcome.”
