News
TCI: Court Justice reports: Votes Must Count; Two Candidates rank higher, but General Election results unchanged
#TurksandCaicos, June 10, 2021 – Two All Island Candidates got more votes than the final, official results showed and while this will not change the outcome of the general election, it does change how each person finished historically. Both Jamell Robinson, an all island candidate on the PNP ticket and Karen Malcolm, an all island candidate for the PDM have moved up in placement because a block of voters were left out and off of their final tally. This was concluded by Justice Carlos Simons, QC who accepted the request of the Governor to review the complaints of not one, but two candidates from the February 19 national poll.
“…His Excellency the Governor asked me to undertake this effort. Summarizing his email correspondence of 26 April and surrounding conversations, he noted the key objectives to be: a) Maintaining public confidence in the accuracy of the electoral process; b) Understanding the details that underpin Hon. Robinson’s complaint and whether and what remedy is/was available, and if there were courses of action open to him under the Ordinance that he could or should have utilized to ensure that this late challenge was not needed; and c) Produce a Report on this basis or any other basis necessary as befitting a matter touching and concerning the Constitution and the democratic process. 10. A day later His Excellency brought to my attention a similar complaint from Hon. Karen Malcolm and asked that I widen the scope of my inquiry to include that, to which I agreed,” outlined Simons in his report, which was made public on June 8, 2021.
Justice Simons said Turks and Caicos was fortunate, this time around that the discrepancies in tallies for the concerned candidates did not change the overall election results, but strongly advises that changes be made and recommendations taken on how to ensure this never happens again.
“We are lucky that in neither case was the diminishment of votes sufficient to affect the overall result of the election for either candidate or for their Parties. And in the absence of any evidence of fraud, it seems to me the proper response would be to see how the system can be made less vulnerable such human errors in the future. Before we go there however, I have been asked to consider what remedies the candidates might have availed themselves of under the Ordinance.”
Simons, a former candidate himself said what was most bothersome to him was that voters who would have wanted their voice to be heard in their selection of a candidate would have been missed out, had the candidates not questioned their individual and cumulative results.
“The entitlement to vote is provided for by s. 55 (5) of the Constitution and s. 10 of the Ordinance. The issue in play in both cases here is important because each miscounted vote, or uncounted vote represents a denial, or at least a distortion of the electors’ right to choose their representatives in the House of Assembly. The fact that the numbers by which the votes of these two candidates were under reported were not sufficient to affect the overall outcome is not relevant to this fundamental consideration.”
In the case of Karen Malcolm, who was on her second run as an at large candidate; her final results after ballot counting left out all of the people who voted for her in North and Middle Caicos or ED4. All 39 of the votes cast were left off the tally. It takes her from the recorded 2,491 votes nationally to 2,530; she finishes in sixth place and as the top performing People’s Democratic Movement candidate; a step up from second.
In the case of Jamell Robinson, he was shorted 82 votes and the shortfall came in The Bight, ED6. It makes Robinson, as he had claimed, the second best performing candidate not just for the Progressive National Party but overall; falling second to Washington Misick, with his now confirmed 3,500 votes.
The Governor in releasing the full report concludes that he accepts the findings and conclusions; explaining Justice Simons did the work pro bono.
“I accept all of his conclusions and recommendations as do the Candidates and the Supervisor of Elections.
Of importance to the two ‘All Island Candidates’, and to those who voted for them in two electoral districts, Justice Simons concludes that: Honourable Jamell Robinson and Honourable Karen Malcolm both polled more votes in ED6 and ED4 respectively than were recorded in the final election results. The accompanying conclusion is also important because had those additional votes impacted the election results, then the impact would be significant. That conclusion is however that the number of votes made no difference to the election result, in either case,” said the Governor in his statement on the Election Discrepancies Report.
Suggestions have been made by both Robinson and Malcolm on what “guard-rails” could be established to avoid any repeat and “These improvements will therefore be incorporated by the Supervisor of Elections in future elections,” advised Governor Dakin.
The Governor reiterated, there was no election fraud and that electoral law is uninterested in the ranking of the five all island candidates; only that the top five finishers be counted as members of the House of Assembly and in this case, fortunately, all five of them are.
“In terms of whether the official election result – in terms of numbers polled – can be retrospectively changed, the answer is that it cannot. As far as electoral law is concerned, the Ordinance is entirely uninterested in the relative ranking of ‘All Island Candidates’ save to say they are either in the top five, or they are not. They win or they lose. They gain a place in the House of Assembly or they do not. While Justice Simons does not say it, the fact that such rankings may or may not be important in terms of internal party considerations, is not the concern of the law nor, therefore, the Supervisor of Elections or the Courts who must be guided by it. Justice Simons explains in his report the error made no difference to the election result, and that is all the Elections Ordinance seeks to achieve,” explained HE Nigel Dakin in his June 8 statement.
NASSAU, The Bahamas – Participants of the Ministry of Social Services, Information and Broadcasting’s Camp Inclusion, including the camp’s student advocates, recently toured Nassau Cruise Port in a move designed to produce multiple benefits for the children.
Camp officials said the tour was part of the “moving away” from the old tradition of keeping children with disabilities locked away at home, and towards greater social inclusion for persons with disabilities – especially children.
Facilitated by the Community Affairs Division of the Ministry of Social Services, Information and Broadcasting at the Flamingo Gardens Family Life Centre, the camp is a collaborative effort between the Ministry, its Community Affairs and Disability Affairs Divisions, the Bahamas Coalition of Advocates for Disability Awareness and Service (BaCADAS), and the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities (NCPD). The majority of the Camp Instructors are persons with disabilities.
The Camp is in keeping with the Global Family Day 2024 theme of “Embracing Diversity, Strengthening Families,” and is an extension of the Ministry’s continued efforts to take the lead in ensuring access and inclusion for all — particularly the community of persons with disabilities — in every aspect of society.
Children with different levels and types of disabilities, along with student advocates, participated. Its focus was to ensure that participating youth learn about living with mobility and intellectual disabilities, advocacy, inclusion and accessibility.
Mr. Townsley Roberts, Deputy Executive Secretary of the Secretariat of the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities, said
the visit is expected to have a number of expected outcomes.
“It was very important to get the kids out and for them to see parts of the island that they rarely get a chance to experience,” Mr. Roberts said. “It was also an opportunity for them to feel a part of the Bahamian society because many times they are kept at home or just in the classroom (and) so this gives them a chance to spread their wings; an opportunity to dream. You never know, something they saw today can spark their imaginations and some may become artists, want to work in the tourism field or even just to try and experience a cruise. The ability to dream, to feel a part of society, to feel included, is important to the growth of all children, including persons with disabilities.”
Mr. Roberts applauded officials at Nassau Cruise Port for agreeing to the tour, which he said also allowed chaperones to inform the student advocates of some of the aspects that makes a facility accessible and inclusive.
“We are so happy that the Cruise Port allowed us the opportunity to come and tour the facility. As the name of the camp goes, what we are promoting is inclusion — total inclusion in all aspects of Bahamian society including the culture, and the open spaces. We want to make sure that all spaces are accessible and one of the things we know, because we had the opportunity to inspect the cruise port, is that the Port is accessible to persons with disabilities. So why not bring the children – including the student advocates — here as a means of helping them to understand and to witness first-hand what accessibility means and how it, or the lack of accessibility, affects the lives of persons with disabilities.”
Mr. Antoine Munroe, a Camp Instructor and employee of the Disability Affairs Division of the Ministry of Social Services, Information and Broadcasting, said access and inclusion ensures that every person is able to achieve the same outcomes whether in social, educational, or employment settings, and are the best methods of ensuring that persons with disabilities are given the same opportunities to participate in society. He applauded the inclusion of the student advocates in the camp.
“It is a passion of my own to see young people included and exposed to the life of persons with disabilities. Being able to tour the facility gave me an understanding of how I can use my cane to move about with a little assistance and I thought that was very, very smooth. I congratulate those persons who were able to cause this to happen, and also the persons in charge of the Nassau Cruise Port. I think this is a very good step in the right direction,” Mr. Munroe added.
Release: BIS
(BIS Photos/Patrice Johnson)
Bahamas News
National Commission for Persons with Disabilities gauges ‘accessibility’ at ZNS, BIS as part of ongoing inspection schedule
NASSAU, The Bahamas – Inspectors attached to the Inspectorate Division of the Secretariat of the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities (NCPD) conducted assessments of the facilities at the Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas, and Bahamas Information Services, Tuesday (July 23) as part of their ongoing efforts to ensure that all public facilities, and those private facilities that provide services to members of the public, are accessible for all.
Both entities fall under the remit of the Ministry of Social Services, Information and Broadcasting as does the Secretariat.
The team was headed by Mr. Townsley Roberts, Deputy Executive Secretary, Secretariat of the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities, and included Mr. G. Michael Ellis, Senior Inspector; Mr. Wesley Paul, Inspector; and Mr. Thorne Clarke, Inspector.
Deputy Executive Secretary Roberts said the inspections were two-fold.
“Today we are inspecting ZNS and BIS which are both a part of the Ministry of Social Services, Information and Broadcasting to ensure that they are accessible because it is our belief that we cannot ask the public to do the things required by law without first ensuring that our entities are also in compliance,” Mr. Roberts said.
“People need to understand that accessibility to persons with disabilities is just as important as it is to persons without a disability. We want to be able to go about your day-to-day business without any obstacles in our way.
“What makes us disabled is the built environment, the barriers in front of us. If you remove those barriers, then we can do many of the same things persons without disabilities can do, and sometimes better. So this is what we are about. We are trying to make The Bahamas a place for all persons (and) where it will be comfortable for persons with disabilities to be able to manoeuvre through buildings and other spaces with the same ease and comfort expected by everyone else.”
The inspection team conducted assessments of wheelchair ramps, bathrooms, office spaces, and parking and reception areas, and measured doorway and hallway widths, in addition to other spaces to ensure that the requirements as set out in the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities) Act, 2014, are met.
Mr. Ellis, who spent 34 years as a member of the Royal Bahamas Police Force before retiring as a Senior Police Officer and who brings that same knowledge of the law to his new role, said the inspections help to ensure that the community of persons with disabilities enjoy the same rights to accessibility as any other citizen.
“Persons with disabilities, including those in wheelchairs, persons with walkers, crutches and those who use other assistive devices such as canes, should be able to move around just like everyone else,” Mr. Ellis said.
“We were looking to make sure that there were accessible bathrooms for both males and females, to ensure that there are proper ramps and that the ramps are the proper sizes, to ensure that all of the offices are accessible and all of the other areas are accessible for persons with disabilities.
“The Act says whatever we, as able bodied persons can do, a person with a disability should be permitted or allowed to do the same without any hindrance. Our job is to ensure that these facilities are in compliance with the Act.”
Once inspections are completed, Adjustment Orders are sent to those facilities/businesses found not to be in compliance with the Act, advising them of any faults, and providing a time-frame for compliance.
(BIS Photos/Anthon Thompson)
Release: Bahamas Information Services
PHOTO CAPTIONS
Header: – ZNS/BCB
Left to right:
1: G. Michael Ellis – Sr. Inspector (NCPD)
2: Thorne Clarke – Inspector (NCPD)
3: Townsley Roberts – Deputy Executive Secretary (NCPD)
4: Wesley Paul – Inspector (NCPD)
5: Carlton Smith – Chief Security Officer (BCB)
Insert: – BIS
Left to right:
1: Elcott Coleby – Director General (BIS)
2: Wesley Paul – Inspector (NCPD)
3: Townsley Roberts – Deputy Executive Secretary (NCPD)
4: Carlton Smith – Chief Security Officer (BCB)
5: Thorne Clarke – Inspector (NCPD)
6: G. Michael Ellis – Sr. Inspector (NCPD)
***MEDIA RELEASE***
July 23rd, 2024.
Around 10:59 am, the Police Control Room received a call of gunshots at a location along the Millennium Highway, Providenciales.
Officers of the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force were dispatched and, based on preliminary investigations, were told that the occupant (s) of a red Suzuki Swift was at a business place when another car pulled alongside it, and the occupants started shooting.
The driver of the Swift drove off while the other unidentified vehicle sped off in a separate direction. 
Officers found the Swift abandoned near Miracle Close, Blue Hills, shortly after.
Based on investigations, no injuries were reported.
This remains an active investigation.
The RT&CIPF is asking anyone with information or CCTV footage of the shooting that may assist the police with enquiries to contact 911, the closest police station, the Serious Crime Unit at 231-1842, or call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-8477 and anonymously give any information.
Additionally, persons are being asked to download the Crime Stoppers P3 app.
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