By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Staff Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

PROGRESSIVE Liberal Party leader Perry Christie yesterday accused the government of using public funds to get votes.

Mr Christie said his party will seek to create legislation that will bar the government from awarding contracts or jobs during the election period.

He said: "I have been very dissatisfied with the extent to which the governing party has been able to use the Public Treasury - the fact that we were hearing up to [Monday], of hundreds of people being employed. There is no way of explaining that; that is an inducement of the grossest kind, an abuse of the people's concern. Obviously they need the job but to be giving out contracts in the middle of a campaign - when an election period starts you just cannot do this kind of thing, it is just open bribery."

FNM national spokesman Tommy Turnquest dismissed the claims yesterday.

He said: "There are no election jobs, all of the government poll workers working for the Parliamentary Commissioner and the Parliamentary Registration Department are public officers or former public officers and all have had experience in elections, and so we are very satisfied that we have done nothing untoward - and in fact we have been able to in many cases sustain persons in terms of their employment."