Candidates in the upcoming North Abaco bye-election will make their bids official today as they complete the Nomination Day process.
The election is set for October 15
Camps from both the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) and the Free National Movement (FNM) have descended on North Abaco for today’s nomination process, which when completed, will formalise the candidacies of the PLP’s candidate Renardo Curry, Greg Gomez of the FNM and Bahamas Constitution Party (BCP) Servant Leader Ali McIntosh.
On Tuesday, Parliamentary Commissioner Errol Bethel told The Journal that there almost 4,400 people registered to vote in North Abaco.
Mr. Bethel also said with the bye-election coming only months after the May 7 General Election, there have been only small changes made to the register.
“The register that was used when we had the general election is the register that we are using and it has changed slightly because immediately after the election, the register opens again and so it is our duty to ensure that the register is as up to date as possible,” he said.
Mr. Bethel said the changes are mainly as a result of people whose names may have been added or removed from the register because death or relocation.
The parliamentary commissioner confirmed that individuals who have moved to North Abaco since the general election are also eligible to register to vote in the bye-election.
“If there are people who have moved into the constituency and were there for a minimum of three months and were registered in a different constituency they will now have the chance to register in the North Abaco constituency,” Mr. Bethel said.
“After the register for the bye-election closes, we compile our register up to that point in time.”
Mr. Bethel added that the register for the bye-election closed on September 17.
He also expressed confidence in his team’s ability to get the job done and he said he expects the bye-election to run smoothly.
North Abaco was represented by former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham from 1977 until his retirement last month.
