Voting extended in two Bahamian constituencies due to technical problems
NASSAU, Bahamas (CMC) — Voting was today extended in the constituencies of Elizabeth and Seabreeze due to technical problems that took place as Bahamians went to the polls on Wednesday.
Parliamentary Comissioner Charles Albury in a release on Wednesday afternoon said that earlier in the day the voting was suspended.
“Due to some technical problems related to a few ballots, voting (in the Elizabeth constituency) had to be suspended to allow for these issues to be resolved. In the Seabreeze constituency, voting was also suspended to resolve some issues,” said Aubrey.He said that while voting had since resumed, “in order to allow all of the registered voters to exercise their rights to vote – the Parliamentary Commissioner, in accordance with section 52 of the Parliamentary Elections Act, had extended voting hours in the Elizabeth Constituency until 6:15pm (local time), with the exception of polling division 11 which had been extended until 8:15pm.”He noted that in the Seabreeze constituency, voting was allowed in one of the polling divisions for an additional two hours – until 8:00pm.The Commissioner however noted that there were no irregularities in the electoral process in both of the these constituencies.An estimated 180,000 people are registered to vote in this general election with the PLP seeking to hold on to power in the 41-member Parliament.Polling in most divisions was scheduled to end at 6:00pm.The general election is being observed by international and regional observers including the Organization of American States (OAS) the 15-member Caribbean Community (CARICOM) regional grouping and the United States.On Monday Prime Minister Perry Christie sought to assure the observers that the general election will be a peaceful one.This is the second time that observer teams have been invited to The Bahamas for the general elections with the first being the 2012 election.In the last general election, held in 2012 the Christie led the PLP to victory defeating the then ruling Free National Movement (FNM) for control of the Parliament.The DNA also contested the poll, but failed to win a seat.