By PAVEL BAILEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

pbailey@tribunemedia.net

Parliamentary Commissioner Harrison Thompson has pushed back against former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham’s claim that the voter registry needs to be “cleaned up,” insisting the database is up to date and that ongoing efforts are aimed squarely at maintaining its accuracy.

In an interview with The Tribune on Sunday, Commissioner Thompson dismissed Mr Ingraham’s assertion that the register was outdated. He said candidates and party representatives were given copies of the register ahead of last month’s Golden Isles by-election and that his department received no queries about missing names or outdated entries. He said the integrity of the register remains the department’s top priority.

“Nevertheless, I wish to appeal to all political parties and independent candidates that if they have any information concerning the Register being outdated or persons not living in the constituency that they are registered in to please to report same and reach out to the parliamentary Registration Department

“So that a proper investigation could be conducted,” he said.

“It is also the intent of the Parliamentary Registration Department to conduct scrutineering exercises in several constituencies following the report from the Boundaries Commission to further verify the register”

Commissioner Thompson previously said 7,926 people were on the Golden Isles voter register, with 3,884 casting ballots in the by-election.

Mr Ingraham told the Nassau Guardian last week that both the Free National Movement and the Progressive Liberal Party were unable to locate several thousand voters while canvassing in the constituency.

The PLP’s Darron Pickstock defeated the FNM’s Brian Brown in Monday’s vote, securing 1,873 ballots to Mr Brown’s 1,637 — or 48.3 per cent of the total.

Commissioner Thompson said his department held two town halls in New Providence to encourage voters who had moved since the 2017 election to transfer their registration.

Mr Ingraham said it was too late to update the register ahead of the next general election, but urged voters to notify officials if they have relocated.