By PAVEL BAILEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

pbailey@tribunemedia.net

THE Parliamentary Commissioner said Family Island residents who were initially turned away from registering in New Providence have since been processed as preparations continue for the next general election.

Commissioner Harrison Thompson made the comments during a press conference at the Parliamentary Registration Department (PRD) on Tonique Williams-Darling Highway yesterday, where he also announced that voter verification stations across the country are now open.

The Free National Movement’s Torchbearers Youth Association President Xavier Knowles said last week that several young voters were denied the chance to register to vote.

Mr Thompson said only a handful of people had been affected, including people from Inagua. He said those matters had been resolved and urged anyone who still needs to register to visit the department.

Verification stations, he said, are open in every constituency from 5.30pm to 8.30pm, Monday to Friday, until further notice. Mr Thompson said the exercise is vital to maintaining an accurate and up-to-date register, allowing voters to confirm or correct their personal information ahead of the next general election.

He said 195,610 people are currently listed on the continuous register, the highest number of registered voters in Bahamian history. Verification, he said, takes no more than five to seven minutes and requires a valid Bahamian passport or current voter’s card.

Verification sites in New Providence include St Paul’s Catholic Church in Lyford Cay, St Anne’s School in Fox Hill, Aquinas College, the Smiley Building, the University of The Bahamas, the Nassau Village and Fox Hill community centres, and Remnant Tabernacle on Carmichael Road. Additional locations include Anatol Rodgers, CR Walker, Thelma Gibson, Government High, Garvin Tynes, TG Glover, and Sybil Strachan schools.

Mr Thompson said verification is voluntary but strongly encouraged, as it improves the system and voting process. He added that voters may consent to have biometric data securely transferred from their passports to the PRD’s new digital platform, which is being upgraded with assistance from the Organisation of American States to modernise the country’s electoral system.

So far, 590 people have completed biometric verification, and that data will be integrated into the new system through coordination with the Passport Office. The PRD will continue to keep a paper backup of the register to prevent disruptions during the election.

For this cycle, the department is registering only new voters, while previously registered individuals remain on the continuous register. New voter cards are expected to be ready by early January 2026.

Responding to online rumours, Mr Thompson stressed that no one will lose their right to vote for refusing biometric verification. He said the department’s top priority is protecting the franchise and fighting misinformation that undermines public confidence in the electoral process.

Meanwhile, a by-election will soon be called in the Golden Isles constituency to fill the seat left vacant by the death of MP Vaughn Miller in September. Under the Parliamentary Elections Act, a writ for a by-election must be issued within 21 to 30 days of the vacancy.