By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

MINISTER of Health Renward Wells has confirmed that the government will not prevent people in quarantine from voting in next week’s general election.

Mr Wells spoke to reporters at C V Bethel High School where scores of people gathered to cast an early vote in the advanced poll.

“To prevent folks (from voting), there’s some constitutional issues I believe, legal issues around all of that and at the end of the day, folks are going to find a way to exercise their democratic right," Mr Wells said when asked whether people in quarantine will be allowed to vote.

"The government of The Bahamas and let me say this, in the United States, during the US election, the CDC had put out some guidelines and they said whether you’re COVID positive or whether you’re in quarantine, you can go out to vote in the American elections but the point is that you treat everyone who comes to the poll as if they’re COVID positive, so all Americans were allowed to vote and I think we’re taking that same model but we are putting even more stringent guidelines inside the polls.”

His comment on Thursday came after weeks of concern that people in quarantine or those who have COVID-19 would not be allowed to vote based on statements made by members of the government.

It also comes after the Progressive Liberal Party wrote to acting Parliamentary Commissioner Lavado Duncanson to confirm whether registered voters will be prevented from voting in the next election if they are quarantined or suffering from COVID-19.

Former State Minister for Legal Affairs Damian Gomez outlined the deadline in a letter to Mr Duncanson on Monday behalf of PLP leader Philip “Brave” Davis and party members.

He said the letter was “in anticipation of litigation” and if the appeal to patriotism did not succeed, the party would commence “expeditious prosecution of court proceedings” against Mr Duncanson.

See Friday's Tribune for more on this story.