Issues with ballots during the national election in the Bahamas on Wednesday caused voting to be temporarily suspended and hours extended at some polling stations.
As a result, tallying of the vote began after 8:15 p.m., when the last polling station closed in the Elizabeth constituency on New Providence. Voting in the island chain had been suspended at the site for more than an hour early Wednesday after Free National Movement opposition candidate Duane Sands complained that unused ballots from last week's chaotic advance voting were missing and a ballot box had no seal.
Sands' complaints were dismissed by an attorney with the ruling Progressive Liberal Party, or PLP, but not before some frustrated voters left the voting site. The Organization of American States, or OAS, which had a team of 11 election observers fanned out across New Providence and Grand Bahama, immediately dispatched someone to follow up on the complaints.
"I'm hoping that all the reports amount to very little, because it is difficult for anyone to make a judgment to suspend voting, and I'm hoping that that kind of experience can be avoided," Prime Minister Perry Christie told reporters during a ceremony at the Royal Defense Force Base early Wednesday. "I find it inconceivable that there could be any kind of intent to deceive or intent to confuse. We think we have put in place the personnel to prevent that."
Free National Movement opposition leader Hubert Minnis said he had reports of voting irregularities in at least five constituencies, the Nassau Guardian reported.
As the vote count got under way, the opposition FNM had a decisive lead as key seats held by PLP ministers fell to the opposition.
On Wednesday afternoon, Parliamentary Commissioner Charles Albury issued a statement that "due to some technical problems related to a few ballots," voting in the Elizabeth constituency would be extended an extra 26 minutes past the normal 6 p.m. closing. Voting hours at the polling station that Sands complained about were extended until 8:15 p.m. Voting was also extended until 8 p.m. at a polling station in Seabreeze.
Albury maintained that "no irregularities were discovered in the electoral process" in those constituencies.
Sherry Tross, chief of mission for the OAS Electoral Observation Mission, said that observers did hear reports of late opening polls, missing ballots and other concerns at some polling stations throughout the day. Observers, she said, were deployed to see the problems firsthand.
"For those polling stations that I have observed, things have moved pretty smoothly. We know that when the polls opened this morning that there were large numbers of people, which really attest to the enthusiasm of the Bahamian people to exercise their right to vote," she said. "The polling workers at the places we were at were very prepared, very professional, and things went well."
The election pits Christie's PLP against the FNM, the main opposition. There are 36 seats up for grab, and the party that wins the most seats will control the government for the next five years.
Christie's government, which came into power in 2012 after winning against the FNM, is trying to win a consecutive term despite struggling to address the country's double-digit unemployment, rising crime and a sluggish economy. The government also has been dogged with corruption allegations involving some ministers.
"The Progressive Liberal Party remains painfully aware that many of our people are still hurting _ our policies have not touched all of our citizens, but sometimes big changes take time," PLP Chairman Bradley Roberts told the Bahamas' 180,000 voters on the eve of the vote.
Hoping to sway voters in what political observers say is a close race, Roberts promised that in a post-election PLP administration, Bahamians could look forward to improved health care, universal access to pre-school education and sports academics for gifted students.
"Simply put, the current administration was elected under the theme 'believe in Bahamians,' but they have been a complete failure in that regard," said Matthew Trotman, an administrative manager at an insurance agency in New Providence who voted for the opposition FNM. "They ignored the people, like me, who voted for a national lottery. They lied about the collection of (taxes) and how it would be spent. They interfered with BahaMar, a private entity, and used it as a political tool."
Trotman said he had no problems at his polling station, where it took longer for him to walk to the line than to cast his ballot.
In addition to the OAS, the 15-member Caribbean Community (Caricom) regional grouping and the Commonwealth Observer Group are also monitoring the vote for signs of problems.
