On July 13, the day before the closure of the 2007 election register, over 1700 people flooded registration centres and waited in long lines to get their names on the roster. Apparently there was confusion over whether the voting registration deadline was about to expire.
However, Parliamentary Commissioner Errol Bethel clearly stated that Bahamians will be able to register after the old register closes on July 14.
The new roster will be used in the next general election and at present, over 100,000 people have registered on the new roster – including the 1700 persons who apparently may have believed this was the final voter-registration call.
Now that the old register is closed, the Boundary Commission will evaluate constituency boundaries to determine if borders should be adjusted or if new constituencies should be created due to the number of voters in the area.
The next election must be called before May, 2012.
Voters can continue to register until the House of Assembly is dissolved and the Writ of Election is issued.
