By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

WHILE The Bahamas has been praised for its “credible, inclusive and transparent” voting process, the country is still in need of further electoral reform especially as it relates to modern election technology, campaign finance regulations and communication relations.

The recommendations come after two international groups released reports over the weekend outlining their observations from Thursday’s general election. Their analysis echoed previous observer groups’ findings.

In preliminary reports on the 2021 vote, electoral observers from the Commonwealth Observer Group and the Organisation of American States’ Electoral Observation Mission urged the government to act on its previous recommendations of modernisation of the voting process, establishing an independent election management body and enacting legislation with respect to campaign financing.

Former Prime Minister of Jamaica Bruce Golding led the group which facilitated the report by the Commonwealth Election Observers’ group, while the OAS’ electoral observation mission was led by Dr Denis Antonie.

On the issue of campaign finance, both observer groups reiterated previous recommendations of enacting legislation to regulate financial contributions to political parties to bring about greater transparency.

The COG said: “There are no statutory provisions regulating financial contributions to or campaign expenditure by political parties and candidates. This leads to a lack of accountability and uncertainty and suspicion as to the extent to which financial contributions influence the outcome of elections and the decisions and actions of the Government that emerges from those elections.”

The COG pointed to its recommendations made for the 2017 election, where it also called for campaign finance legislation to be enacted.

Speaking on the same issue, the OAS said: “In order to guarantee transparency and a more level playing field in the electoral process, the Mission recommends once more: creating legal standards and practices for recording, managing and reporting political party contributions and expenditures.

“Establishing political financing oversight measures and penalties for non-compliance with disclosure requirements. Creating mechanisms for citizens and the media to have access to information regarding the financing of political parties. Prohibiting anonymous donations and contributions from foreign sources. Considering the establishment of direct public financing for political parties and campaigns that meet established thresholds of popular support.”

Both observer groups acknowledged the impact the snap election, Hurricane Dorian and the COVID-19 pandemic had on last week’s vote.

The OAS group said the circumstances surrounding these events prompted several changes that did not come without its challenges for the Parliamentary Registration Department.

“First, new procedures implemented by the Parliamentary Registration Department were at times unclear and continued to evolve over time, even in the final days before the election, resulting in uncertainty among voters and poll workers,” the OAS report noted.

“Of particular concern to the OAS mission, and to political parties, was the question of how many agents per candidate would be allowed into polling stations on Election Day. Section 55 (1) c of the Parliamentary Elections Act stipulates that the number of candidate agents in each polling station should not exceed three at any time.

“On the day before the poll the Mission learned that the PRD had delegated authority to individual presiding officers to determine how many party agents were to be allowed within each polling station. The Mission notes that this decision established a basis for differentiated treatment of and access by agents across polling stations and across the 39 constituencies of The Bahamas for these elections.

“The Mission also took note that some critical aspects of and issues in the electoral process were only decided in the final days before the elections. The final list of polling places was published on September 14, two days before the September 16 polls, and a decision to allow persons in quarantine to cast their votes in person at polling stations was communicated to the general public, through the Office of the Prime Minister, on September 12,” the OAS report added.

Meanwhile, COG said it received input from several key stakeholders stating that insufficient communication regarding “key electoral functionaries” was being provided by the Parliamentary Registration Department

“The group recommends that the Parliamentary Registration Department develop a robust communication strategy and mechanism to inform the public on critical issues,” the Commonwealth group advised.

Both missions also took note of the many concerns surrounding voter registration for first time voters and displaced Hurricane Dorian victims after the permanent registry was created.

In view of these concerns, the COG said an aggressive voter education campaign should’ve been implemented before last week’s general election and urged officials to conduct one moving forward.

The COG also had concerns about the advanced poll, saying although it concluded in an orderly manner, “the management of some aspects of the process, especially the close and count, raised some concerns about the preparedness of election officials.”

The group also said: “We noted, in particular, the inconsistent application of procedures, or what appeared to be a lack of understanding of certain aspects of the process by the polling officials.”

In terms of election modernisation, both missions found the country lacking in this regard – though the OAS applauded the Parliamentary Registration Department for its “use of the centralised platform called ‘MyGateway’” for the advanced poll application process.

Speaking specifically to the current voter’s registration card, COG said it “is deficient in many respects.”

“For instance, the information contained on the card is hand-written, the voter’s photograph is affixed via adhesive tape, and the card is not laminated and has no modern security features, leaving it vulnerable,” the COG’s chair wrote.

OAS, for its part, recommended the government move towards biometric voters’ cards and continue expanding the use of the “MyGateway” platform.

As part of the implementation of a continuous voter register, to develop an online voter registration system that provides an effective process for self-registration, including the option to apply online and submit applications to electoral authorities electronically,” the OAS report added.

The mission also urged officials to implement an integrated electronic results transmission system “with key security features” to ensure result accuracy among other things.

Continuing its report, the OAS also commended the marked increase in women candidates involved in the 2021 electoral process, “which has seen the highest number of women candidates over the last four elections.”

However, it said there is still a need to “progressively adopt parity measures that level the playing field for women in elections.”

In terms of the media, the COG’s report said press freedom is generally respected and the press seemed to be free to cover the campaigns and election without intimidation.

However, COG noted concern that the national broadcaster ZNS “did not provide equitable access and/or balanced coverage of the activities of the contending political parties and candidates”.

The COG continued: “This resulted in citizens being deprived of their right to receive balanced information about the election and candidates. The main opposition political party (at the time the PLP) alleged that the government broadcaster refused to take its adverts due to an alleged disputed debt from the last election, even though it offered to pay upfront and clear the debt. We were not able to determine the veracity of this allegation, but we found it troubling.”

The group recommended that private media give consideration to the development of a media code of conduct that would foster greater accountability and fair coverage of election campaigns.

In conclusion, the Commonwealth group said: “The voting, closing and counting processes at polling stations were credible, inclusive and transparent. The commitment of all Bahamians to the exercise of their democratic franchise is to be commended, bearing in mind the considerable challenges confronting The Bahamas in the face of a snap election, as well as the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.”

A final and detailed report by both missions will be made available to the Bahamian public at a later date.