REGISTRATION BOOM: Six constituencies have more than 6,000 voters

REGISTRATION BOOM: Six constituencies have more than 6,000 voters
(PHOTO: NIYAZZ VIA SHUTTERSTOCK)

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — With voter registration continuing to slowly climb, at least six constituencies have more than 6,000 voters registered to date.

Up to last week, the current voter register stood at 189,888 voters, of which 131,528 voters were registered on New Providence; 30,348 on Grand Bahama; and 28,012 on the Family Islands.

According to data provided by Acting Parliamentary Commissioner Lavado Duncanson, constituencies seeing high voter registration numbers include Golden Isles (7,134), Killarney (6,696), Tall Pines, (6,138), Central Grand Bahama (6,631), East Grand Bahama (6,322) and Marco City (6,187).

The latest numbers show a marked increase from the number of voters in those areas during the 2017 General Election.

At that time, Golden Isles had 6,004 voters, Killarney had 5,700, Tall Pines had 5,033, Central Grand Bahama had 5,608, East Grand Bahama had 5,562 and Marco City had 5,402.

There were 181,000 registered voters in the last election, with a voter turnout of around 88 percent.

The remaining constituencies are seeing a steady climb in their voter numbers, with some constituencies staying close to their voter count from 2017.

Those constituencies include: Bains and Grants Town (4,815); Bamboo Town (5,756); Carmichael (5,979); Centreville (5,219); Elizabeth (5,545); Englerston (4,888); Fort Charlotte (4,820); Fox Hill (5,896); Freetown (4,941); Garden Hills (5,228); Golden Gates (5,442); Marathon (5,334); Mount Moriah (5,226); Nassau Village (5,637); Pinewood (5,351); St Anne’s (5,389); St Barnabas (4,440); Seabreeze (5,572); South Beach (5,465); Southern Shores (5,571); Yamacraw (5,146); Pineridge (5,589); West Grand Bahama and Bimini (5,619); Central and South Abaco (3,276); North Abaco (5,004); Mangrove Cay and South Andros (2,108); North Andros and the Berry Islands (2,580); Cat Island, Rum Cay and San Salvador (1,617); Central and South Eleuthera (3,724); North Eleuthera (3,373); Exumas and Ragged Island (3,330); Long Island (1,734); and MICAL (1,266).

Constituencies Commission Chairman and Speaker of the House of Assembly Halson Moultrie has said that ensuring voter parity may be difficult given that some constituencies have far more voters than others.

Moultrie has said the commission may recommend adding four more constituencies to the current boundaries — three on New Providence and one on Grand Bahama.

That boundaries report is expected to be completed by this week, Eyewitness News understands.

The government passed the Parliamentary Election (Amendment) Bill, 2020, in December, which made the voters’ register from the last general election in The Bahamas a continuous or permanent register.

The Parliamentary Voter Registration Department has estimated there will be approximately 20,000 to 25,000 people who may register themselves — including new graduates coming out of high school annually.

Various centers have been opened for expanded voter registration exercises on New Providence and Grand Bahama, including for individuals who are not on the 2017 register or who may need to make an address transfer.

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.

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