By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

NEW voter registration for the 2017 general election officially begins next month with Parliamentary Commissioner Sherlyn Hall telling The Tribune he expects up to 20,000 new registrants this cycle.

This is because more Bahamian youth have reached the voting age of 18, coupled with an overall growth of the country’s population, Mr Hall said.

Voter registration will start on October 5 throughout The Bahamas and also at certain Bahamian embassies and foreign missions oversees, he said.

Mr Hall said the various registration stations will remain in operation until the House of Assembly is dissolved, which is expected to happen in about 18 months time.

“We will commence the creation of a new voter register on October 5, 2015,” Mr Hall said.

“That means all persons who registered for the last general election will have to come in to us with their passports to re-register. And it is quite normal for us to start at about 18 months before the term of the House comes to an end.

“Last election we had 172,128 registered voters, but this season we expect to see an increase of around 15,000 to 20,000. On average when we look at historical and empirical evidence we see that there are young people who’ve turned 18 and a growth of the population.”

While the parliamentary commissioner said he anticipates a smooth process, he appealed to voters to only report to respective stations if they have a passport with them.

“Once Bahamian citizens come to us we should have no problems. But what we have seen is that people come into us with affidavits. They ought not come to us. You should report to the chief passport officer first and get a passport then come to us to register.”

During the last general election, the Progressive Liberal Party was victorious over the Free National Movement (FNM) and third party, the Democratic National Alliance (DNA).

When the votes were tallied the PLP secured 75,815 votes compared to the 65,633 ballots that were cast in favour of the FNM. The DNA won a total of 13,225 votes.

The PLP with 75,815 votes lost the popular vote to the combined opposition’s 78,858 votes.