Nottage ‘doesn’t know if anything went wrong’

Thursday, June 9, 2016

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

NATIONAL Security Minister Dr Bernard Nottage, who has responsibility for elections, was unemotional yesterday in the face of the outrage Bahamians have expressed over the Parliamentary Registration Department’s confusing and delayed process in announcing results of Tuesday’s constitutional referendum.

“I don’t know what went wrong or if anything went wrong,” he told reporters at the House of Assembly.

He said the number of questions on the ballot, coupled with issues like scattered power outages, contributed to the delay in the release of results.

“What I know is this,” he said, “the four questions were on each ballot and each ballot therefore had to be examined. The examination takes a lot longer because you had to count ‘yes’ and ‘no’ for each of the questions. And so this is one of the things that served the process bad. Secondly, I understand that there were some power outages that affected the process of getting the results from some areas. That’s it. I don’t think there was any particular motive.”

A day after the referendum, the results from some polling stations still had not been released. And on Tuesday night, the Parliamentary Registration Department released results for only six of 38 constituencies. Additionally, Parliamentary Commissioner Sherlyn Hall decided not to release polling division results as they came in, instead opting to wait for all the votes from an entire constituency before issuing them.

Yesterday Dr Nottage said the integrity of the process should not be called into question.

However, he said he disagreed with Mr Hall’s decision to withhold results until results from all divisions in particular constituencies were received.

“What I do know is this,” he said, “the parliamentary commissioner informed me that what he had decided to do is wait until all the results came in for a constituency and then release those results. Now, that was not a process with which I agreed and I told him so. He thought it was very efficient to do it that way.”

Noting the rarity of referendums, Dr Nottage did not suggest that Mr Hall or any other official in his department should suffer some consequence for the way the matters were handled.

“A referendum is different from (an election where you have) two candidates so you can just count the votes for one or another candidate,” he said. “In this case there were four questions that you have to count ‘yes’ or ‘no’ for them so that takes you four times as long.”

As for the results of the referendum, Dr Nottage said he was not disappointed.

“I believe we should have equality of persons in the country,” he said. “To that extent I notice that the people for whom this was intended did not support that view. I accept it. I would have no disappointment one way or the other. I just know what I did.”

Asked what steps will be taken to ensure announcements of results during the next general election don’t mirror what took place this time, Dr Nottage said: “All we have to do is follow the rules as they exist. That’s all we have to do.”

On Tuesday night amid chaotic scenes, the department was blaming electrical failures, technical issues and procedural breaches for its inability to report totals for polling stations throughout the country.

“Basically, our fax (machines) are down because the (media) had to do some gymnastics with cabling, so whatever mechanism that I think you all did, (polling stations) had a difficulty communicating by fax to us. So most of the results were telephoned, by cell, etc,” Mr Hall said on Tuesday.

According to Mr Hall, a power outage limited reports from the Montagu constituency. Additionally, issues with the department’s fax machines limited the reporting of results in “a number of other” constituencies.

Comments

DDK says...

"On Tuesday night amid chaotic scenes, the department was blaming electrical failures, technical issues and procedural breaches for its inability to report totals for polling stations throughout the country."

.....and exactly WHO is the Department blaming for electrical failures, technical issues and procedural breaches?????? 'Twould be funny if it were not so sad..........

Posted 9 June 2016, 2:53 p.m. Suggest removal

Zakary says...

<ul style="list-style-type:none">
<li>“What I know is this,” he said, “the four questions were on each ballot and each ballot therefore had to be examined. The examination takes a lot longer because you had to count ‘yes’ and ‘no’ for each of the questions. And so this is one of the things that served the process bad.</li>
</ul>

Heaven help this current Government. We’ve had a referendum before with more than four questions, if my memory serves me well. I'm I going crazy...

This is just utter tripe. It’s totally unacceptable. Are they suggesting that we’ve regressed so far, that we can count votes better in 2002 than we can in 2016? The hell?

Keep this up and they’re going to have people campaigning against them they don’t want campaigning against them. Wow, and some of us try to have as much patience as possible with the PLP Government.

Posted 9 June 2016, 3:37 p.m. Suggest removal

sheeprunner12 says...

BJ is so pathetic ........ it is shameful to see what he has sunk to at the twilight of his political career ........... he will be defined as the worst MONS ever ....... and reviving Roots on ZNS .......... and reviving voodoo elections in The Bahamas ............ what a SAD legacy for a once proud visionary CDR leader ............. that is what happens when you return to your VOMIT

Posted 9 June 2016, 4:14 p.m. Suggest removal

TalRussell says...

Crown ministers does says the darnedest things even when they're being recorded.
Comrades I have this theory that if Minister Dr. Bernard doesn't look confident in the story's picture, how can the minister pull off answering anything asked by a reporter - more so when your facial expressions speaks volumes that its quite obvious that you have not a damn clue what in hell you're talking about.
HUH?

...../////https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ip-tMe278E

Posted 9 June 2016, 5:10 p.m. Suggest removal

gbgal says...

No preparedness in advance? No computerized system to handle returns? When will we reach the First World? If 200 thousand citizens had voted, we would be counting until Christmas!

Posted 9 June 2016, 9:04 p.m. Suggest removal

Comrade your argument asserts that a certain physical counting or lack a computerized counting system of the 4 questions stance is true or correct resulting in the long delay in reporting the referendum results to an eager nation awaiting the results.
All voting results are to be released to the media as the polling stations begin closing and the votes are counted and reported back the electoral headquarters for immediate media release as the "unofficial results," being electoral regulations mandate a recount of all votes before the "official" vote results are confirmed and released.
It is the option of the media to project the "unofficial winner," never and not the electoral returning officer.

Posted 10 June 2016, 9:12 a.m. Suggest removal

cmiller says...

Jokes for days!!!!!!

http://tribune242.com/users/photos/2016…

Posted 10 June 2016, 9:18 a.m. Suggest removal

Thumbelina242 says...

The PLP govt spent and wasted hundreds of millions of tax payer dollars over the past 4 years. Some of that money could have bèen used to purchase an automated voting system that would completely eliminate the need for manual counting, inaccuracies, manipulation of votes, and delays in publishing election results. Come on!!! When will you guys take your heads out of the sand and GET IT RIGHT!!??? 2017 elections just around the corner!!

Posted 10 June 2016, 9:24 a.m. Suggest removal

Well_mudda_take_sic says...

Both Bernard Nottage and Sherlyn Hall have demonstrated a degree of incompetence that constitutes gross dereliction of duty; Bahamians are truly dismayed and embarrassed by the unacceptable delay in the release of the referendum results. These two, Nottage and Hall, should be sent packing as the Bahamian electorate do not want them to have any involvement whatsoever in the tabulation and communication to the media and public of the results of the next general election. Will Bahamians once again see that Christie lacks the gonads necessary to do the right thing by failing to sack both Nottage and Hall? Any involvement by Nottage and Hall in tabulating and communicating the results of the next general election will rightfully be viewed by the general electorate with great distrust. Nottage and Hall are bereft of even the most basic management skills and they should not be given the opportunity to dismay and embarrass us a second time. Christie desperately needs to do something to restore the trust of voters in our country's electoral processes and both Nottage and Hall are low hanging fruit for doing so.

Posted 10 June 2016, 10:21 a.m. Suggest removal

gofigure says...

Wow.....

Posted 10 June 2016, 10:43 a.m. Suggest removal

Greentea says...

With all due respect Mr. Nottage- it is time for you to exit the political scene. Your service to the Bahamian people has come to an end. Best you take a moment to "see" that rather than have the people tell you that at the polls.

Posted 10 June 2016, 2:35 p.m. Suggest removal