FNM chairman: Quarantined people shouldn’t vote

Free National Movement (FNM) Chairman Carl Culmer said yesterday that quarantined voters should not be allowed to take part in the upcoming general election.

“The thing is the FNM [doesn’t] believe in trying to prevent anyone from voting but if you’re in quarantine, why would you ask to jeopardize all the folks who are coming out? They (Progressive Liberal Party) make the suggestions but they do not make [a] solution on how it’s going to be done,” Culmer said when called for comment.

“I believe if you’re going to suggest something, you provide a solution the same time. So I’m waiting to see their solution and how they ask for these quarantined voters to have the ability to vote.”

When asked for a clear yes or no answer on whether quarantined Bahamians should be allowed to vote, he replied, “I don’t support it at this time.”

The election will be held on September 16.

The advanced poll, which roughly 30,000 voters are expected to participate in, will be held on September 9.

Section 49(C) of the Parliamentary Elections Act provides that individuals who are registered to vote in a constituency may vote as a special voter in the advanced poll under certain circumstances, including “illness” or “infirmity”.

Such individuals by law are required to apply in writing to the parliamentary commissioner for a special voter certificate. However, it is still not clear whether individuals suffering from an infectious disease like COVID would qualify.

This is a matter that the PLP raised when it wrote to Acting Parliamentary Commissioner Lavado Duncanson earlier this week to seek clarity on COVID provisions that will be in place for the upcoming general election.

“One of the issues that we raised with him is that he needs to advise the general public and us and all interested parties what COVID provisions they are making; and, unfortunately, we have not heard from them because we raised this before in our meetings, and so we thought at least the time has come to write to [the department],” Valentine Grimes, one of the PLP’s election coordinators, said on Monday.

“One of the concerns we have is that a number of people who may be in quarantine will be disenfranchised and so we suggested and recommended to him that he ought to make special provisions for these individuals.”

Yesterday, when asked if special provisions should be made for quarantined or COVID-positive voters, Culmer said, “Well persons who are in hospital, persons who are incarcerated, persons who are ill, do they vote? I don’t know. I don’t think so. I’m waiting for the PLP to suggest to the parliamentary commissioner how it would be done without jeopardizing persons who are supposed to be looking over and facilitating this election.

“We have voters from both sides of the fence who are probably in quarantine – PLPs and other parties – and so it’s just not going to affect just the PLP. It’s going to affect all the parties. I’m waiting for the solution on the PLP’s proposal on what should happen and what shouldn’t happen, but they didn’t say how it’s going to be done.”

He said a meeting is being planned between Duncanson and political parties.

Culmer said he expects that the matter of whether quarantined voters will be able to participate in the election will be brought up during that meeting.

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source https://thenassauguardian.com/fnm-chairman-quarantined-people-shouldnt-vote/