The Tribune

By KEILE CAMPBELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

THE opposition accused the Parliamentary Registration Department yesterday of partisan conduct after a voter registration drive was held at ILTV Studios, a site it says is linked to Progressive Liberal Party Fort Charlotte candidate Sebas Bastian.

Free National Movement Fort Charlotte candidate Travis Robinson said the department should “cease and desist” from what he described as political activity and called the move “political skullduggery” during a sensitive political season.

He said Mr Bastian is a major shareholder in the studio and that campaign operations are run from the same location, with political material stored there.

“Many of the political vehicles are stationary at the front and back door of the same location,” Mr Robinson claimed.

He argued holding registration at a politically affiliated venue undermines confidence in the process.

In a statement, Verizon Media Group Ltd, operator of ILTV Studios, rejected the allegations and said the exercise followed official authorisation.

“The voter registration exercise was conducted as a non-partisan initiative with strict adherence to the guidelines, procedures, and authorisation established by the Parliamentary Registration Department,” the statement read. “Its sole purpose was to encourage eligible Bahamians to exercise their democratic right to register.”

The company said the initiative was open to staff and the public and broadcast live, adding the political campaign referenced operates in a separate section of the premises and had no involvement.

“At no time did Verizon Media Group Ltd coordinate with, support, or facilitate any political campaign in relation to this initiative, nor would it,” the statement said.

The confrontation unfolded during a press conference outside the Government Building, where opposition figures raised broader complaints about the voter register and registration process.

Deputy Opposition leader Shannendon Cartwright said the gathering was an “agitation and awareness” effort prompted by voter complaints and rejected suggestions of grandstanding.

He claimed young voters were wrongly denied registration because of passport expiry dates.

“We have confirmed reports from the registration centers at South Beach and the Mall. Young first-time voters are being told they cannot register because their passport expires later this year. They are being told that this is new law — that is false,” Mr Cartwright said.

“There is no new law that says your passport must be valid beyond the date you register to vote. Even an expired Bahamian passport does not cancel your citizenship. If you are Bahamian, you have a right to register, full stop.”

He also questioned delays in updating the electronic register.

“How long is the registration supposed to take? What controls exist to make sure registrations are entered correctly? Who is accountable when names simply disappear?” he asked.

Mr Cartwright said some voters appeared in multiple constituencies.

“That should never happen — one voter, one constituency,” he said. “Anything else opens the door to abuse.”

FNM Golden Gates candidate Michael Foulkes said deceased people remain on the list despite repeated reports.

“I have sent in reports from Golden Gates as to specific issues, as to people who have been on the list and should have been off the list for years, and they have not been removed,” Mr Foulkes said. “As of yesterday, I got a brand new, fresh register, and they’re still on the list from 2022.”

Mr Cartwright urged the Ministry of National Security to intervene, citing inconsistent guidance at registration centres and confusion over transfers between polling divisions.

“You do not have the ability to choose. You have to be an ordinary resident in a particular polling division and register in that polling division,” Mr Cartwright said.

“There continues to be, in our view, and in the view of many Bahamians, disparities in terms of what it takes to register, what it takes to transfer, what it takes to ensure that the necessary changes that have happened in the Boundaries Commission report have been facilitated adequately,” he said.