The Tribune

By KEILE CAMPEBLL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

COALITION of Independents leader Lincoln Bain yesterday cast doubt on the integrity of the coming general election, alleging without evidence that police control over access to a vault containing election materials left the process vulnerable to interference.

Speaking outside the Parliamentary Registration Department, Mr Bain said he had delivered a cease and desist letter to acting Parliamentary Commissioner Harrison Thompson demanding that officers from the Security Intelligence Branch of the Royal Bahamas Police Force be removed from any custodial role over the vault and its contents.

Mr Bain said he wanted written confirmation by Thursday, April 9, that control of the vault and its keys had been placed solely in the hands of the Parliamentary Registration Department. Failing that, he said, the party would “have to take action”.

He also said he intended to write Prime Minister Philip Davis, National Security Minister Wayne Munroe, Commissioner of Police Shanta Knowles, the British High Commission, the US Embassy and the Organisation of American States.

Mr Bain said he was “disturbed” after learning that neither the parliamentary commissioner nor his staff had direct access to the vault and had to call SIB officers to open it.

“We were informed of this by police officers in SIB, we were informed of this by staff at the PRD who were all concerned about this fact,” Mr Bain said.

He argued that the arrangement breached the Parliamentary Elections Act, which he said gives custody and control of election materials to the parliamentary commissioner and authorised staff, not police.

“That particular process is illegal, according to law, because the police and the government is supposed to have no authority or access or interference with our elections,” he said.

Mr Bain also pointed to what he described as an incident during a by-election when SIB officers were present at the Parliamentary Registration Department as advanced poll boxes were brought in.

“That was very concerning for us. We had no idea why they were there,” he said.

He said he was later told the officers were there because they had the key to the vault where the boxes were stored along with other election materials. From that, he suggested police access to the vault created an opportunity for ballots to be switched.

“What can happen is that ballots can be taken out and replaced,” Mr Bain said. “If there are 1000 ballots in a box, someone could remove 500 and replace them, and you would not know the difference.”

He also cited irregularities he said occurred during the 2021 general election in Pinewood. However, a Tribune report at the time said the issue involved confusion over ballot procedures at the advanced poll, where cast ballots were initially not placed in sealed envelopes. Representatives of the Progressive Liberal Party, the Coalition of Independents and the Democratic National Alliance intervened, and the issue was corrected before the ballot boxes were secured. Officials reported no confirmed tampering.

Mr Bain said he was not satisfied with Mr Thompson’s explanation. According to him, Mr Thompson said there was another door leading to the vault for which he held a key, but Mr Bain argued the vault itself remained under police control.

“On election morning, they take the advanced poll ballots and mix them with another poll,” Mr Bain said. “We do not get to check them, and that is where it can be covered up.”

He also alleged that newly issued passports were being used to facilitate immediate voter registration.

Mr Bain called for international scrutiny of the electoral process and said foreign governments should be prepared not to recognise the election if serious irregularities emerged.

National Security Minister Wayne Munroe dismissed the claims as political theatre by a party expecting defeat.

“Anybody talking about an election being stolen probably feel they are going to lose and they are setting a pretext, but Mr Ingraham has made it quite clear, you cannot steal an election,” Mr Munroe said, referring to former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, who addressed election fraud concerns during last year's Golden Isles by-election.

"You can’t thief an election in The Bahamas," Mr Ingraham said. "We got too many guardrails. We got too many rules and what not, too many experienced people for that to happen. Just be sure of that."

Mr Munroe said the vault issue was beside the point because ballots are counted in the presence of party agents.

“By the time the ballots reach there, they have already been counted in front of everybody’s agents, including the COI,” Mr Munroe said. “Unless the COI is disorganised and does not have sufficient polling agents, they will be there to witness it themselves, so that is why Mr Ingraham said get that nonsense out your mind.”

Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell also rejected the concerns, saying Bahamian elections are routinely observed and political parties themselves help safeguard transparency by monitoring the process.

“I do not think that calling in international observers changes whether the elections are free and fair,” Mr Mitchell said.

“It is a bit rich it seems to me, and maybe smacks of desperation for people to be implying that there is something nefarious about the way these elections are conducted."