The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

ASSISTANT Parliamentary Commissioner in Freeport Reno Smith revealed that a voter once tried to bribe him to issue a new voter’s card.

Speaking at the Rotary Club of Lucaya’s luncheon meeting at Ruby Swiss on Tuesday, Mr Smith said that ruining one’s personal reputation to ensure that a political party is elected is not worth it.

Mr Smith said that during the first day of his appointment at the Parliamentary Registration Department, some person who had registered and voted contacted him and offered him $1,500 to issue her another voter’s card for whatever reason.

Mr Smith stressed that he will never compromise himself for any political organisation or anyone.

“I read the foolishness put on Facebook about me… and the idiot who made those comments obviously does not know Reno Smith. I will not compromise my spiritual or personal conviction for any political organisation. I am there to do the government’s job. I have been employed in government service since 1983 and have never comprised my office,” he said.

“No matter what political affiliation you wish to be aligned with, I implore you do not ruin your personal reputation to ensure that a political party is elected in this country. It is not worth it.”

He also revealed that of the 35,000 eligible voters in Grand Bahama, only 7,000 have registered on the new voter’s register.

Due to the low voter registration, the Parliamentary Registration Department has initiated its mobile registration programme. Mr Smith is encouraging civic and service organisations, companies, and churches to organise registration for groups of 25 or more persons for the department’s mobile registration.

He stated that the government has put certain mechanisms in place to make sure that qualified Bahamians register to vote.

He noted that persons can no longer present an expired passport or the old 2012 voter’s card to the Parliamentary Registration Department to register.

A non-expired passport will be accepted, or a certified birth certificate, or their mother’s documentation, proving that they are a qualified Bahamian.

“We have 35,000 eligible voters on this island and about 7,000 have registered so we need to get the register moving so the boundary commission can meet and assign the boundaries.”

He said that the old voter’s card is of no value anymore.

“We had a gentlemen who came to do business in Freeport from Bimini and the only ID he had was his 2012 voter’s card, and he should not have been allowed to travel on that ID because it had already expired when he arrived here. He is still stuck here as a result of not having a current Bahamian ID.”

Mr Smith said that they cannot issue anyone a copy of their old voter’s card because all expired voter’s cards and the counterfoil have been sent to the Ministry of National Security for archiving.

The assistant parliamentary commissioner said even though a gentlemen came to them with five previous voter’s cards to prove he had voted in the last five general election, he still could not be registered unless he could provide other certified documentation proving his Bahamian citizenship.

“The ID we are asking for is a passport, it is a certified form of ID to prove your nationality. Initially we were saying we accepted your passport up to one year, but of late we had someone who presented himself for registration with a 30-year-old passport. This person is travelling internationally, I don’t know how. But this person tried to do something at one of our Consul General’s Offices recently and as a result, it is a national security issue,” he said.