By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

FREE National Movement candidate Travis Robinson said approved voters in his constituency have been left off the advance poll register days before voting, fearing that some may now be unable to cast their ballots.

With the advance poll set for April 30, Mr Robinson said nine people — including three who will be overseas on Election Day — were omitted from the certified list despite receiving certificates authorising them to vote.

He said he submitted applications on April 23 for senior citizens, poll workers and persons travelling overseas, but when he returned two days later, he only received L-form certificates for senior citizens and travellers.

“I did not receive any of the poll workers’ L-form certificates. And even to this day, all of my workers, I have no L forms for any of them at this point,” he said.

Mr Robinson said the issue became clear when the certified advance poll list was released and several names — including three travellers — were missing despite applicants meeting all requirements.

After raising the matter with election officials, including Parliamentary Commissioner Harrison Thompson, he said he was told nothing could be done.

“I subsequently spoke with a senior official at the registry who basically told me, ‘such is life, things happen, we move on,’” he said. “I later contacted Mr Thompson, who gave me a similar response, that unfortunately there's nothing he can do and that it is what it is.”

Mr Robinson said the response was unacceptable and warned that affected voters could be disenfranchised.

“That could cost me an entire general election,” he said. “A former prime minister lost his seat by four votes.”

He called on the Parliamentary Commissioner to amend the register before advance polling begins.

He said affected voters are “highly upset,” particularly those who will not return to the country before the May 12 election.

Free National Movement chairman Duane Sands said similar concerns have been raised by other candidates, including himself and Heather Hunt.

He said some voters who met all requirements were left off the register despite legitimate reasons to vote early, while others appeared on the list without applying.

“When you look at the state of the register — people on the register with birthdays that have not yet come, people who according to the data haven’t even been born yet — and then there are persons who are on the advance poll register who did not apply, in some instances willing to swear an affidavit that they did not apply, and yet they are on the advance poll register, you wonder what is going on,” Dr Sands said.

He called for the Parliamentary Commissioner to be removed.

“When we see the mess, the chaos, we can ask whether this is just incompetence or whether this is a deliberate act by someone who ought to be relieved of his role as Parliamentary Commissioner forthwith,” he said.

In a statement, the Parliamentary Registration Department said errors identified in the register were due to typographical issues and a system glitch.

“These are not consequential to the outcome of the election, as the voter’s card and counterfoil contain the accurate information that will be relied upon on voting day.

“The Department cautions against presenting these matters as evidence of a wider problem or a departure from normal practice. The Department remains committed to protecting the integrity of the electoral process.”

The Progressive Liberal Party, meanwhile, condemned what it called a “reckless attack on Bahamian democracy.”

“The Bahamas has earned its reputation as one of the strongest democracies in the region through decades of peaceful elections and independent institutions,” the PLP said in a statement. “To suggest otherwise, for political convenience, damages that reputation abroad and weakens the confidence of Bahamians at home.”