By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Chief Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

AN activist and two scholars are campaigning for eligible but decidedly unregistered Bahamian voters to spoil their election ballots as a form of protest, instead of abandoning the democratic process altogether.

Led by women’s rights activist Alicia Wallace, with the support of prominent University of the Bahamas professors Dr Nicolette Bethel and Dr Ian Strachan, the campaign had a soft launch on social media this week.

Ms Wallace maintained that the movement did not intend to persuade registered voters from properly marking their ‘X’ in support of a candidate or party, but to provide an alternative route for many Bahamians that have signalled their reluctance to take part in the process.

“We want people to register to vote,” Ms Wallace said. “We haven’t named any adversaries at all. We’re proponents of the people and we stand with giving people an option that gives them a voice and one that we can quantify.

“Our target audience is the group of people that have decided that they will not register to vote because there is no option that appeals to them, there is no candidate or party that they are prepared to support with their ‘X’. We’ve chosen that group of people because we want to ensure they still have a voice that they can use and that they can make a statement that says I do care about my country and the direction it takes.

“I care enough to tell you the options that you put before me are inadequate. We want to put the power back in the hands of the people, even if they feel powerless. What we want to see is people actually making the effort, towing the line to register to vote and showing up to make that statement instead of staying at home and having it misconstrued or spun as voter apathy,” she said.

Voter apathy has been a lagging concern for the government, with numbers still trailing significantly behind figures for this same time last election season despite multiple satellite locations and increased public outreach.

It has been theorised that registration will increase dramatically once the Constituencies Commission report has been finished.

Crisis

However, Ms Wallace maintained that the stalled pace was not indicative of disinterest in the process but disillusionment. She forecast that spoilt ballots will spark the type of public dialogue needed to impact the current electoral system in which voters have no direct impact on the process of party leader selection, and the link between voting for an MP but not a prime minister.

In a blog post on Tuesday, Dr Strachan underscored that the country was facing an “unmistakable crisis of representation”. He called for the return of credibility to public affairs, and urged ordinary citizens to realize their political power.

“This general election will be the first in our nation’s history in which the register of voters shrinks rather than grows,” he said.

“I believe there is no way to avoid the conclusion that most who refuse to register are unhappy with the choices before them. They do not want Christie, they do not want Minnis, they do not want McCartney, or anyone else who has emerged thus far and applied for the job of prime minister.”

He argued that the failure of political parties to successfully replace political leaders has resulted in “widespread disenchantment and resignation.”

“I have absolutely no doubt that if the processes by which leaders are selected by the political parties were more fair, open, participatory and transparent, instead of rigged, opaque and corrupt, the population would have choices they can believe in running for prime minister and voter registration levels would not be so incredibly low,” he said.

Dr Strachan outlined three main goals for such a protest: to allow citizens greater participation in the selection of MP candidates and party leaders; mandate political parties be regulated by law, and an Independent Electoral Commission for campaign finance disclosure and fair and transparent party elections; the strengthening of the Public Disclosure Act and the Prevention of Bribery Act.

“Spoiling the ballot sends the nation and the watching world a clear, unmistakable message that a sizable portion of the country demands better representation and will not settle,” Dr Strachan said.

“Critics will say we are being reckless, that we will cause a bad leader to be elected instead of their less-bad leader. They will say the stakes are high in the country and every vote is needed to fix what’s wrong. The stakes are high. And that is why we must rid ourselves of illusions and strike at the root.”

“Once the election has passed and the smoke has cleared, then it will be time to plan, organise and agitate forcefully and methodically for the electoral changes we want to see. We have nothing to lose,” Dr Strachan added.

For her part, Mrs Bethel framed the exercise as “Seeding the Revolution”, suggesting that spoilt ballots could engender greater accountability in governance and future electoral reform.

In a blog post published yesterday, she posited that the low registration numbers are a red flag that something is fundamentally wrong with Bahamian democracy.

Pointing to the recent figures, she proffered that the outcome of the general election will likely depend on which mainstream political party is most successful in getting its base to turn up at the polls.

“(Low voter registration) It also opens the door for an increase in governmental abuses,” she wrote.

“The less involved in the democratic process the population becomes, the less accountable officials and politicians have to be. And as of this moment, no matter what the turnout, the next government will be elected by a minority of Bahamian citizens. Minority rule, welcome back home.”

Mrs Bethel continued: “You won’t change the outcome of this election if you register and spoil the ballot instead of sitting this one out. But you will send a message to whichever minority government is elected in May. And it’s this: We are watching, we will hold you accountable. We reject the bad choices you gave us. Do better.

“Don’t think the strategists are not watching. They are paying very close attention,” she wrote. “Voter apathy will send the message that Bahamians don’t care what they do. But a spoiled ballot, even if the counts are not released to the public, will tell a very different tale.”