By LAMECH JOHNSON
Tribune Staff Reporter
ljohnson@tribunemedia.net
POLITICAL analyst Dr Ian Strachan believes the country may experience its lowest voter turnout in history for the upcoming general election due to lack of faith in the current political system and “weak” alternatives to the current administration.
Dr Strachan, a columnist and professor of English at the University of the Bahamas, made the prediction during his guest appearance on a weekend radio talk show.
On the show, local and international politics were discussed including the fallout from the US presidential election which saw Donald Trump defeat Hillary Clinton despite the latter winning the popular vote in what had been called the lowest voter turnout since 1996.
Dr Strachan was asked on Saturday on 96.9 FM’s “Eye Opener” if he saw the same occurring for the Bahamas once the election is called.
“I don’t want to draw too many conclusions about what’s happening in international affairs simply because there’s a lot of context to get in there and it’s cyclical,” he said. “But I think in our own country it’s clear that this is a historic moment in as much as I believe we’re about to witness the lowest turnout for a general election in our history.
He described it as a “crisis of representation”.
“I think that at this stage in our national development the Bahamian public reaches a point where they don’t actually see a clear distinction between opposition and government in terms of their ethics, in terms of their policy positions and in terms of their practice.
“And as a consequence, they are turning their backs on the electoral process. I think it’s clear (and) there may be some people out there who don’t accept this, but it’s clear that the government is corrupt.
“But there is no real faith in a political alternative on the landscape. And I think that’s why people aren’t animated to go and register to vote and this is why many, many, many will not vote. Now I know that once they declare the election date, declare even before that when the registers are closed, more people will go forward. But they will not be able to catch up and it will certainly never exceed what happened five years ago.”
In the May, 2012, general election, the Progressive Liberal Party won 29 of the 38 seats in Parliament to the Free National Movement’s nine though figures released by the parliamentary registration office showed the PLP received 75,806 votes while the FNM secured 65,518 votes - a disproportionately small difference when judged against seats won.
The Democratic National Alliance, despite not securing any seats in Parliament, received 13,186 votes.
Last month, The Tribune reported that nearly 57,000 people had registered to vote, a much lower figure compared to this same period before the 2012 general election.
Parliamentary Commissioner Sherlyn Hall publicly stated that his office was troubled by low voter registration numbers to date as the figure represents 34 per cent of estimated eligible voters as of November 4.
He also admitted he was unable to pinpoint the reasoning behind the drop in numbers but that his office was working to help as many people as possible through the process, hoping that the effort could aid registration numbers.
A closer look at the department’s records which were published recently revealed that 77.2 per cent (43,864) of eligible voters in New Providence have registered; 7,707 (13.6 per cent) in Grand Bahama and 5,225 (9.2 per cent) in the remaining Family Islands.
The 2012 voter registry consisted of 172,000 voters countrywide, 134,000 of whom had registered by November, 2011.
Dr Strachan stressed that the country is experiencing “a moment - and the question is, how do we understand the moment we’re in?”
“And what are the opportunities that the moment presents to us? And how we take advantage of and actually grow in this moment? Because I think this is a political crisis moment and as I said, I think the crisis is about credibility, the lack of credibility of both the sitting government and the lack of credibility in the opposition.”
The university lecturer said there is a high level of discontent for “establishment politics”.
“We live in a capitalist society and the kind of democracy that we have is the Westminster system is one which structurally does not support third parties, fourth parties or fifth parties. It’s a ‘first past the post’ system and it’s a two-party system.
“In addition to that, we have a moment we have where we have a really, really, really weak opposition and where the people just don’t have any confidence. The job of the opposition is not just to say ‘oh that’s a bad idea’, ‘that won’t work’, or ‘you failed’. The job of the opposition is also to articulate on some level for the general public an alternative - and that’s where they seem to be failing.
“And so people are agreed that the PLP, well maybe not everybody has agreed, I am satisfied that they are quite corrupt. But I’m not satisfied that the Free National Movement currently offers an alternative and I certainly am not satisfied the DNA offers an alternative and so I haven’t registered to vote.
“I probably will register to vote but I don’t know who I’ll be voting for and I think a lot of people, tens of thousands of Bahamians, are in my position,” he added.
Comments
DDK 7 years, 4 months ago
So very serious. Corruption is so deeply ingrained it reaches all facets of successive governments. Problem is there are no suggestions for a viable alternative...........
jus2cents 7 years, 4 months ago
PLP are still debating constituency borders, so people don't even know who they will be voting for. PLP need to have a convention. The Bahamian people are scared to register, they don't want to be on jury duty or have a record of any sort as 'trying to keep Govenment in the dark' (yep this is the bullshit we hear).
So this paranoid nation afraid of victimisation is so dumbed down and browbeaten they just want to dance in the street to the beat of a someone else's carnival drum. Whilst indirectly enabling this blatant government corruption to keep them downtrodden and 'in their place'.
Paranoia and Mental Slavery is alive and well here.
You may say they are lazy cowards but really there's no one worth voting for right now.
Honestman 7 years, 4 months ago
just2cents, it is imperative that Bahamians place their X against someone other than the PLP candidate. If Mickey Mouse is the opposing candidate then you vote for him. You vote for ANYONE who is not part of this criminal organization. Refusing to vote just plays into the hands of these gangsters and will result in The Bahamas becoming a failed State. This is our last chance to save the country.
xtreme2x 7 years, 4 months ago
Am register, and am voting Marathon
realfreethinker 7 years, 4 months ago
Like the professor said our type of system only supports a two party system,so get use to it. Third party has no chance of forming the gorenment. That's reality.
sheeprunner12 7 years, 4 months ago
That is why we need a proportional representation system .......... we would not have ended up with the PLP winning 29 seats with 48% of the popular vote ......... we would have had a coalition government with Bran McCartney being the deciding factor and the FNM with its 40%+ of the seats in Parliament We have a mutant Westminster system that encourages political tribalism and tyranny
truetruebahamian 7 years, 4 months ago
Everyone must register and vote. If you do not vote you deny others through your complacency. If ten persons can vote, seven do not, one votes one way, two vote the other, the party with two votes wins, and they do by a landslide, because they will claim all of the no votes as positive votes for them. In their eyes and in fact, they would call it nine votes to one, and if the no voters don't like the outcome, they have sold out and betrayed not only the democratic process, but all others who voted against the party which pulled in two votes. Get out, register, vote, get involved,make opposition parties join together before an election and make the difference that we need and which you will not regret. Be an active part of the democratic process,
avidreader 7 years, 4 months ago
As people say every time election rolls around: You had better register and cast your ballot on the appointed day or you are wasting your right to have at least some small say in the functioning of the country. If you fail to vote you have no one to blame but yourself when the result is not to your liking. We are not a revolutionary people so an election according to the provisions of the Constitution is the accepted way of expressing your confidence or lack thereof in the sitting government. If you sit in the corner and pout because you cannot identify the "perfect" candidate you had better have a comfortable chair because you will be there for a very long time.
sheeprunner12 7 years, 4 months ago
That says something for our political culture's capacity to corrupt neophytes
realfreethinker 7 years, 4 months ago
ATBPLP " anything but plp"
Alex_Charles 7 years, 4 months ago
Register to vote, tell your family members and friends. We cannot allow another 5 years of this.
proudloudandfnm 7 years, 4 months ago
I see no reason to register. Minnis and Perry are exactly the same. Both full of crap and both lazy as hell.
And as for Bran, I don't think any third party has had an opportunity like this. But no way I can vote for any of the jokers he has here in Freeport....
Congratulations Perry there has never been a PM as bad as you, no one has done as much damage to our country as you.
But you will be PM for another 5 years....
licks2 7 years, 4 months ago
I went to register about a year and a half ago. . .was told that I must have an e-passport in order to register! They passport was $250 to get. . .effectively allowing only the people with "change in they pockets" to get registered!! Most poor persons had to make the decision to buy a passport or pay they light bills etc. Since they removed that rule. . .over 10, 000 plus has registered in the last two months! Now that the PM said that people need to registered in one meeting last week. . .we now know that he getting ready to ring his party's death bell. . . the people will "bum-rush" the registration booths!
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