By MEGAN REYNOLDS
Tribune Staff Reporter
mreynolds@tribunemedia.net
MASS confrontation at the polls has been predicted for the Elizabeth by-election next week as hundreds of registered voters are still unaccounted for in the constituency.
Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham and Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) campaign coordinator Dr Bernard Nottage both attested to the hundreds of registered voters who have not yet been found in the constituency and might not have the right to vote.
Although Mr Ingraham said the voters in question will be challenged at the polls next Tuesday, Dr Nottage warned the sheer number of them is likely to lead to confrontation on the day and an election court battle in the aftermath.
He said there could be up to 400 registered voters who do not have the right to vote for one of five parliamentary candidates, including Ryan Pinder for the PLP and Dr Duane Sands for the FNM.
"If we have extensive challenging it's going to be very confrontational," Dr Nottage said.
"I would wish to avoid that. I am not saying there are definitely two or three hundred, but there are many people, in the hundreds, who have not been found in the constituency despite intensive work done so far, and the governing party seem to have the same deficiency, so I anticipate there will be people who can't be found turning up to vote."
At press conferences held in the PLP and Free National Movement (FNM) headquarters yesterday, each party blamed the other for bringing the integrity of the electoral register into question.
Dr Nottage blamed the Parliamentary Commissioner for not ensuring the authenticity of the register prior to the by-election as he cited the 2008 Supreme Court ruling in the Pinewood election court case which found it was the Commissioner's statutory duty to protect the integrity of the parliamentary registration process.
The PLP campaign leader attested to a "whopping" 16.64 per cent increase in the number of Elizabeth voters between 2007 and 2010, following a 2.6 per cent rise between 2002 and 2007 and a 9.53 per cent rise in between 1997 and 2002.
He said: "The increase in the number of registered voters in the Elizabeth constituency is unprecedented. It is our belief that such an increase is highly unlikely and there are on the Elizabeth register many persons who do not have the right to be there. Some have moved out. Some may have died; some may have registered without being eligible to do so."
Dr Nottage called on the Minister responsible for elections Tommy Turnquest to investigate the high number of new and transferred voters as well as claims of altered voters cards, and alleged harassment of voters by the Parliamentary Commissioner's staff.
"We are double checking the present and 2007 registers before we make a formal complaint," Dr Nottage said.
"It is clear such random and ad hoc relocation of voters would complicate the voter identification process, create mass confusion and frustration, and discourage the voter from exercising his or her democratic right. This is bad for democracy.
"The PLP calls on the minister responsible to immediately investigate these claims and provide a full and clear explanation as to why these transfers were done and what corrective actions are being taken to remedy this unfortunate situation.
"We wish to encourage the voters of Elizabeth to remain calm and to resist frustration even though on the surface it appears their democratic rights are being frustrated."
However, Mr Ingraham argued any question over the authenticity of the register arose under the leadership of former Prime Minister PLP leader Perry Christie.
The Prime Minister maintains the electoral register was intact until the 2007 general election was called under Mr Christie's leadership and he gave the Parliamentary Commissioner's office just four weeks to prepare the electoral register before the general election, creating a recipe for confusion and errors.
Published On:Monday, February 08, 2010