Free National Movement (FNM) candidate Darren Henfield said he is gravely concerned after Permanent Secretary Melvin Seymour and former Police Commissioner Clayton Fernander were seen wearing Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) paraphernalia on nomination day.
Last week, Seymour was spotted wearing a PLP “Choose Progress” shirt and while attending Prime Minister Philip Davis’ nomination in Cat Island, Fernander also wore a party shirt.
Henfield said the matter sends the wrong signal to voters ahead of next month’s general election.
“As a former foreign minister, what I find disturbing is that Melvin Seymour is the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which has some carriage of overseas voting,” Henfield said.
“So, if you have Melvin Seymour in a PLP shirt, the head commissioner in Canada and former commissioner of police (Clayton Fernander) in a PLP shirt openly campaigning, what signal is he sending to those individuals who report to him on how the process is going in elections overseas and our overseas mission?
“Bahamians who are students abroad are entitled to vote … Bahamians who are employed by the government of The Bahamas, if they’re overseas, they are entitled to vote.
“So, if those people that are responsible for ensuring the security of the vote, the procedures, the boxes are in place, that all the procedures and policies are followed in a proper manner, are openly wearing PLP paraphernalia, we have a concern about that.”
On Monday, while discussing the integrity of the voter’s register at a press conference at the FNM’s headquarters, party leader Michael Pintard called for the immediate removal of Parliamentary Commissioner Harrison Thompson and Returning Officer Neil Campbell, citing concerns about recent cases of voter’s card fraud.
Henfield said that he feels the demand is a necessary step to ensure public confidence in the electoral process.
“Some movement has to happen for Bahamians to feel confident in what we are doing,” Henfield said.
“This is the worst that we have seen it in recent years.
“People being found with voter’s cards in their back trunks, people being almost daily arrested with two voter’s cards. What’s going on in this country? What’s going on?
“We’re not going to sit idly by and allow the PLP to run roughshod over the Bahamian people.
“It’s not about just the FNM, the PLP, or the other political parties, it’s about the Bahamian people having the strength of integrity and the systems that we are called upon to vote by.”
He said, “There’s only one Bahamas. It cannot be one rule for the PLP and another rule for others.
“To see a permanent secretary in the government wearing openly political paraphernalia, it’s disturbing.”
