The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS


Tribune Staff Reporter


lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

VOTING across most constituencies ran far more smoothly than feared yesterday, but repeated complaints about voters missing from the register or assigned to the wrong constituency gave some weight to the opposition’s pre-election concerns about the integrity of the register ahead of the general election.

The Tribune canvassed polling stations across the country, where many voters said they waited less than an hour to cast ballots, and in some cases, only a few minutes.

Many polling stations opened on time, lines moved steadily, and several voters praised the organisation of the process, though register discrepancies, ballot shortages, delays, and accessibility complaints surfaced throughout the day.

The most persistent complaints involved voters whose names did not appear where they expected to vote; voters assigned to constituencies where they did not live; and transfers that were not reflected on the register.

At Yellow Elder Primary School, which served voters in St Barnabas, Progressive Liberal Party candidate Michael Halkitis said some voters who requested transfers discovered those changes had not been finalised.

“Some of them just voted in the constituency where they appeared because the transfer was not finalised, so you had some of them, but by and large, a very smooth process,” he told The Tribune.

Mr Halkitis said turnout was steady in the morning, though he said the advanced poll may have reduced election day numbers. Asked why some affected voters did not cast protest ballots, he said many people avoid doing so because they believe those ballots are not counted.

Similar concerns surfaced in Golden Isles, where FNM candidate Brian Brown reported problems involving voters whose names could not be found on the register at Anatol Rodgers High School despite possessing voter cards.

Mr Brown said several voters were ultimately forced to cast protest ballots.

Complaints about the register also spread across social media. One voter, Shadai Toote, posted a live video claiming she transferred from St Barnabas to Fort Charlotte in March, but was later told she had been assigned to Bains and Grants Town despite never living there.

“It’s like appalling to me,” she said.

“I can’t begin to fathom that we’ve had four plus years to get prepared for something like this, and they still dropped the ball, so I’m being advised that I can’t vote in the constituency I’m in because I’m not on any of their registries.”

Similar complaints were also reported in Abaco, where some voters reportedly chose not to vote after discovering they had been assigned to the wrong constituency.

Progressive Liberal Party candidate for Elizabeth Jobeth Coleby-Davis confirmed that her team had encountered several complaints involving voters being assigned to the wrong constituency.

“They've been noticing it. And I think when those incidents come up, they speak with the returning officer, the presiding officer, to see how they would allow it to move ahead,” she said.

FNM Elizabeth candidate Heather Hunt said at least one voter showed her a voter card listing Elizabeth, even though the voter’s name appeared elsewhere on the register.

“They were sent to another constituency because that's where the name appears on the register, and they had already tow the line and everything for almost half an hour,” she said.

“So that frustration we're hearing, but you know, that person just is determined to, you know, exercise their right to vote, and so they just decided that they're going to take that drive and go to the other constituency where their name is.”

One of the most serious concerns surfaced in Long Island, where Free National Movement candidate Andre Rollins said Polling Division Nine — the island’s largest polling division — received significantly fewer ballots than the number of voters listed on the register.

“The fact that it’s the largest polling division means that it is curious that the Parliamentary Registration Department would send much fewer number of ballots than the number of people who are on the register,” he said.

“We have 360 plus persons on the register here on polling division number nine. However, they included only 300 white paper ballots in polling division nine ballot box when they send it from New Providence here to Long Island.”

Mr Rollins said legal guidance provided to the FNM suggested the polling station should not have opened because the shortage risked disenfranchising voters.

He said election officials ultimately resolved the issue by redistributing surplus ballots from Polling Divisions Three, Four and Eight, where 25 ballots from each were removed, bringing the total for Polling Division Nine to 375.

Ballot shortages were also reported in New Providence. In Fort Charlotte, voting at Polling Division One was delayed for nearly 45 minutes after the station reportedly ran out of ballots and had to wait for additional supplies.

Other complaints surfaced at polling stations.

At Jordan Prince-Williams Baptist School, Bamboo Town resident Darren Sinclaire described his experience as smooth and well organised. He estimated the process took about eight minutes for himself and his elderly mother.

Asked whether he felt anxious voting after hearing widespread complaints surrounding the advanced poll, he said: “Yeah, I was, because I heard a lot of errors on the register and stuff like that, so I wondered if there would be any error on our parts, but everything went pretty smooth.”

In Fort Charlotte, voter Nadia Benaby said she arrived at CC Sweeting Senior High School at 8.45am and completed voting by 9.15am.

Ms Benaby described the experience as the smoothest voting process she had experienced in six elections.

At the same polling station, FNM candidate Travis Robinson pointed to several concerns, including the late arrival of ballots.

Residents in constituencies such as Freetown, Centerville, Garden Hills and Carmichael also reported average wait times of 20 minutes or less.