The Parliamentary Registration Department anticipates 170,000 registered voters will participate in the 2007 elections, which must occur before May 2, 2007.
Only 49,657 people or 43 per cent of eligible voters participated in the ongoing voter registration drive up to Tuesday. The Department’s permanent secretary said he was “concerned but not overly concerned.”
“We are experiencing a similar trend to the May 2002 election οΎ– Bahamians always wait for the last minute,” Permanent Secretary, Sherlyn Hall, told The Guardian.
“The last six to nine months [prior to an election] is really the crunch time, and that has been our experience.”
Mr Hall added: “We hope the conventions both parties [normally] have in September or November [will create] a mad rush for September, October November and December. So we anticipate a great influx of people.”
Hall said most of the voters registered during the present drive were over the age of 40.
“The young people are the ones that we are really concerned with,” he said.
He emphasised that the department wanted to encourage younger voters, particularly those voting for the first time, to avoid the long lines during the expected rush by registering now. Registering early could save time and money and help voters avoid stress, Hall stated. For eligible youth contemplating not registering to vote at all, he advised: “Even if you don’t want to show up at the polls, your name ought to be on the register.
“If your name is on the register, you will be entitled to vote, but if your name is not on the register, you forfeit your right to vote.”
The number of registered voters were distributed throughout the country as follows: New Providence, 49,657, Grand Bahama, 12,658 and the Family Islands – 11,075.
The FNM claimed Tuesday that Prime Minister Christie was considering a snap poll for 2006, but the PLP’s planning of a mid-November convention made it improbable that an election would be held before the end of 2006.
By: RAYMOND KONGWA, The Nassau Guardian
