By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Senior Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

QUALITY of life concerns were at the forefront of voters’ minds during yesterday’s advanced poll, with many concluding The Bahamas is headed in the wrong direction.

Forty-one-year-old Deca Rolle said her own joblessness influenced her vote while voters like Jared Rigby, a 43-year-old Elizabeth constituent, highlighted the worsening COVID-19 situation and the ailing economy.

Most of the people The Tribune interviewed were pessimistic about the direction of the country.

“I believe we’re not taking COVID-19 as seriously as we need to be,” Mr Rigby said. “I believe that we’re losing too many innocent lives and just this process alone this morning is going to manifest in a very real way in about two weeks. It’s not organised. We haven’t impressed upon our electorate the severity of the situation we’re facing and we’re going to pay as a country. I don’t believe we planned enough for this event. I believe the growth of our economy and the progress of our people, not just financially but holistically, would have been a real benchmark for me as far as determining factors.”

Fifty-three-year-old Winnie Linden, a Yamacraw resident, said the Minnis administration “had ample time to better” help the country prepare for the influx of COVID-19 patients but failed to do so. However, she said she is not a partisan voter, insisting both major political parties “need to die.”

“I have seen nothing tangible from the government from Minnis went in,” she said. “Yes, I agree that he had some unprecedented times but this is the job you elected to do. You wanted this job. You don’t get brownie points. I don’t support the PLP, I don’t support the FNM, I support the country. I don’t have a bias. I voted for the DNA the last time because I didn’t believe the promises they made in the Hubert administration, the PLP administration and I believe the two of those parties have moved our country the wrong way for too long.”

The organisation of yesterday’s advanced polling was a mixed-bag: the process was smooth and featured adequate social distancing at some polling stations but was chaotic elsewhere. People allowed to vote included those with a disability, those 65 years or older or those who are election agents, among others.

Ms Rolle, a 47-year-old Seabreeze resident, said having the early election amid surging COVID-19 cases was careless. She said Minnis administration’s failure to deliver on its transparency and accountability promises drove her decision.

“There seems to be a lack of accountability, transparency and at the end of the day that’s what the FNM promised when they came in so at the end of the day I was terribly disappointed to see that they seem to be all the same,” she said, adding that she supported the FNM in the past two election cycles. “I consider myself a swing voter so I’m not colour blind. I’ll support any party but I feel that some decisions that were made were inappropriate and some weren’t even made. The Adrian Gibson scandal. The Lanisha Rolle scandal. . .And I do believe that as a voter we deserve an answer, we deserve to know, even if it’s just rumours, we should get answers.”

No incumbent party has won re-election since the Ingraham-led FNM did so in 1997. The Minnis administration has faced some historic challenges, including Hurricane Dorian and the COVID-19 pandemic. Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis hopes voters will consider the impact these crises have had on his agenda when they go to the polls.

Fifty-nine-year-old Seabreeze resident, Anthony, however, said though he voted for the FNM all of his life, he has crossed over.

“Because of the promises they made and because of their slogan ‘It’s The People’s Time’ and to me they never lived up to it,” he said, adding he believes Dr Minis called an early election “to trick the people and to throw them off.”

“Honesty is the number one factor influencing my vote,” he said. “If they say they could do something, do it.”

B Rolle, another Seabreeze resident, expressed concern that some elites in the country have been getting preferential treatment.

“It seems to be one thing for one group of people and another for another group of people,” she said. “I was undecided until I came here.”

Ms Rolle, who said she does not align herself with a particular party, said the party she voted for yesterday is different from the one she voted for in 2017.

Some voters, however, championed stability over change and appeared willing to stick with the FNM.

Nathan Meadows, a 70-year-old Yamacraw resident, said: “Everything looks like it’s moving straight ahead, looks like plenty of jobs moving forward.”

“My area, Nassau East, I’m comfortable with the person who is running in my area,” he said.

Likewise, 73-year-old Elizabeth resident, Granville McMinns, said the Minnis administration faced difficult challenges and has done an admirable job dealing with them.

“When I look at the country, this present government took over the country in such a bad state and when they took it over it was like one disaster after another disaster and I think they did an exceptional job so far with delivering on some of the things they promised and with trying to help the people,” he said. “They fed the people who lost their jobs, they paid their rent for them, the old folks like myself never missed a day on their pension and they took care of the people in this country well and those who cannot see that they ain’t fit to be around.”