By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Chief Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

TALL Pines MP Leslie Miller condemned the voter registration process yesterday, accusing government workers at registration sites of intimidating and harassing Bahamians for unnecessary documentation despite official proclamations.

Mr Miller pleaded with National Security Minister Dr Bernard Nottage, who has responsibility over elections, to reinforce pronouncements made to the Parliamentary Registration Department.

In a statement to Parliament, Mr Miller claimed that the contrary actions of registration officers have contributed to the sluggish pace of registration, adding that noncompliant officers should be fired.

Mr Miller recounted the experience of a TOPS employee, who he said was turned away three times from three different registration sites. In another account, Mr Miller said that registration officers demanded that registrants have a new NIB card and a valid passport.

“The minister implored those persons who are registering people, to register people on a timely basis,” Mr Miller said. “The gentleman had his passport, his NIB card as well as his driver’s licence. Plenty of those persons who are responsible for registering people today are still requesting their passport and a valid passport, I don’t know why you need a valid passport, driver’s licence plus NIB card. The new thing now is that you must have your new card, that’s what they are telling people.”

“This has happened on three occasions with my people over the weekend, they are telling them they must have a new NIB card. The minister made it clear to all Bahamians that all you need is your passport that shows your picture on it, that you can register to vote as a voter in this country. I was here when he said it, these people are not following the rules and they are intimidating people and causing Bahamians not to want to go to vote.”

Mr Miller added: “I’m asking the minister again to inform those persons who have the responsibility to stop harassing Bahamians from registering to vote because that is what they’re doing.

“[Registering] should be the easiest process for anyone who are legitimate Bahamians to register to vote, they [registration officers] should facilitate them and assist them, they should be happy that people are registering to vote. They are making it very difficult and it’s not fair.”

According to Parliamentary Commissioner Sherlyn Hall yesterday, the numbers of persons on the voter register is now just over 115,000.

For his part, Dr Nottage told Parliament that it was unclear why persons were still refusing to follow instructions despite the frequent communication between his ministry and the PRD. He noted that several officers had been removed from the voter registration and sent back to their respective areas, due to complaints that they were not following protocol.

Speaking to reporters outside the House of Assembly yesterday, Dr Nottage said: “I’m very disappointed with the personnel issues, where there are persons, who, notwithstanding all of the explanations that have been made to them, all of the education they’ve had on it, all of the recurrent interceptions we’ve had to make with them. There have been one or two persons who were sent back to their normal jobs so I’m not too sure why it is that people will not follow the instructions that they are given.

“It is my hope that we get it right, and most Bahamians will vote. I am encouraged by the recent uptick in registration and I think if we continue along these lines the figures won’t be very much different than they were in 2012.

“That is my wish,” Dr Nottage said.