Mr. Speaker, On November 14th 2012, the Prime Minister, who had made several previous communications to this Honourable House on the matter of a Referendum on a National Lottery and Web Shop Gaming, and who had set a date of December 3rd 2012 for the holding of that Referendum, indicated to Parliament that as a result of evolving public discourse, it became clear to him that more time was needed before the Bahamian people should be called upon to vote.
He indicated that the government had decided to bring the question of a National Lottery within the scope of the Referendum and that the proposed new date for the Referendum would be the 28th of January 2013. Subsequently, the Constitutional Referendum (Amendment) Act, 2012 was passed by Parliament on 7th December, 2012 and the Referendum Regulations, 2012 were gazetted on 31st December, 2012. The new regulations, which were designed to cover the holding of all referenda, both constitutional and otherwise, set out the general parameters for the conduct of a Referendum. These pieces of legislation are considered necessary to ensure that Referenda in The Bahamas are conducted based on tried and true electoral processes in order to meet the Government’s commitment to fairness, transparency and propriety in the conduct of Referenda. We are satisfied that the requisite legislative regime is now in place.
Accordingly, in accordance with this, I advised His Excellency the Governor-General to issue an Order for a Referendum to be held on January 28th and on Wednesday 2nd of January, 2013 the Order was so issued. That order, contained two questions which are to be put to the electorate. The first question reads as follows: Do you support the regulation and taxation of Web Shop gaming? The second question reads: Do you support the establishment of a National Lottery? Mr. Speaker, Prior to determining the questions which would be put to the electorate, the Prime Minister and several ministers met with concerned citizens. During those meetings a broad range of relevant matters were discussed.
The Prime Minister answered all questions which were put to him by these groupings and provided all the information which they requested including the actual questions which would appear on the ballots. These groupings, which included the President and members of the Bahamas Christian Council, now also known as “Save Our Bahamas Vote No Campaign”, which is urging voters to vote no, and executives of the group known as “Vote Yes Bahamas” which supports web shop gaming and is urging voters to vote yes. Neither group expressed any disagreement or concern with the questions as put to them then. These are the same questions as appeared in the Order issued by the Governor General.
Mr. Speaker, These questions will be placed on the ballot and under each question, two clearly marked spaces will be provided; one for a yes vote and the other for a no vote. Pursuant to section 59 of the Referendum Regulations, 2012, the voter is instructed to place one cross only, in the space opposite the word ‘yes’, if he supports the question, or in the space opposite the word ‘no’, if he does not support the question. The procedures to be followed in the conduct of this national Referendum will, for the most part, mirror those that are followed in voting at General Elections for members of the House of Assembly. Mr. Speaker, I wish to inform the public that the ballot booths which will be used in this exercise in New Providence will be disposable booths made of card board, but they are built to preserve the same standard of secrecy as the traditional booths. Voters will be required to vote within the constituency and polling division in which they are registered. However, in the case of a Referendum there are no political candidates.
Instead, as indicated there are questions to which the voter is to answer either “yes” or “no”. A “Yes” vote means you support the proposition and “No” vote means you do not. Additionally, voters will be required to dip their fingers in the indelible ink as per the General Elections. Mr. Speaker, The public should be aware that the result of the poll will be determined by a simple majority of the number of “Yes” versus the number of “No” votes for each question. As there are no candidates, there will be no election agents in this referendum. Instead, the regulations empower the Minister to appoint a maximum of three Local Observers per polling station with a view to ensuring the fairness of the process. Of these three observers, at least one should represent the “yes” vote and one the “no” vote. The appointment of the Local Observers shall be made in writing and signed by the Minister.
The Parliamentary Commissioner will hold a briefing session with Local Observers to advise them of their role in the referendum prior to the advanced poll. I wish to draw to the public’s attention that Bahamians who were eligible to vote in the May 7th 2012 General Election can vote in the Referendum. They do not have to register again. Persons who reached the age of eighteen (18) after May 7th 2012 and have already registered to vote do not have to do so again. However, persons who are 18 years of age and over, who have not yet registered, must do so today, January 9th or tomorrow January 10th by 5 pm if they wish to vote in this Referendum.
This is because the voters register will close on the 10th January 2012. Anyone not registered by then will not be eligible to vote. Section 80 of the Referendum Regulations, 2012 provides for appeals to be heard by a Referendum Tribunal, chaired by the Chief Justice and a Justice of the Supreme Court named by the Chief Justice. This is the same provision as obtained with respect to the Constitutional Referendum Act. Mr. Speaker. Just as is the case with General and Bye Elections, qualified persons who are desirous of voting in the advanced poll, either as overseas voters or as special voters have until Thursday 10th January, 2013 to submit the relevant completed application form to the Parliamentary Commissioner.
This information was given to them earlier. For those persons who reside overseas, a completed Form J must be submitted. Special voters, namely election officials, those who on referendum day are likely to be off island, hospitalized, undergoing medical attention etc., must complete Form K. Mr. Speaker, The Parliamentary Commissioner has already begun a process of public education surrounding the regulations governing this Referendum in order to ensure that the general public is fully informed. Additionally, specific training for election officers has also already begun. I wish to draw to the public’s attention the following dates as they relate to activities pertaining to the Referendum: The Order of Referendum was signed by the Governor General on the 2nd January 2013.
The Parliamentary Commissioner began the publication of notification of Referendum on Friday, the 4th January 2013. On Thursday 10th January, that is tomorrow, the Voter Register will close. On Saturday 19th of January the Voter Register will be certified by the Parliamentary Commissioner. On Monday 21st January, 2013 an advanced poll, inclusive of overseas voting, will take place. Finally, the 28th January 2013 is the date of the Referendum vote…that is Referendum Day! Mr. Speaker, The Prime Minister and several of his ministers met with the leadership of the Bahamas Christian Council on December 28th and dealt comprehensively with the Referendum in a cordial, frank and candid manner. The questions were presented to them for their review and no objections were raised. They were informed of the process that would ensue, given the dates for the issuance of the Referendum Order by the Governor General and the schedule thereafter ending with the poll on January 28th. All questions which were raised by them were answered comprehensively.
There were no concerns expressed with regard to the wording of the questions. On Friday January 7th, I received a letter signed by the president of the Bahamas Christian Council, on behalf of the Council and the Save Our Bahamas Vote No Campaign Committee expressing their “objection to the wording of the web shop gaming question”. They alleged that the question was incorrectly worded and their specific objection was to the word “regulation”. They indicated a preference for the word “legalization” in its stead. In my response to them, I pointed out that the questions which were contained in the Order issued by the Governor General on January 2nd accurately reflected the propositions upon which the government wishes the public to vote.
I also expressed disappointment that the objections were not made when the questions were presented to them earlier. More importantly, Mr. Speaker, I pointed out to them that an unlawful activity cannot be regulated and that the word “regulation” implicitly covers “legalization”. Mr. Speaker, In my national address last week, I said then that this Referendum was an opportunity for eligible members of the public to be heard on the issue of whether they support the regulation and taxation of Web Shop Gaming and whether they support the establishment of a National Lottery. I reminded them that that while for the purposes of the efficient management of the Referendum they will be voting within their constituencies, the results of the Referendum will be determined by a simple majority of the total number of votes cast nationally for each question.
My fellow Bahamians, The Government is committed to participatory democracy and believes in the timeless tenet that public policy should consistently reflect the collective will, desires, aspirations and sensibilities of the Bahamian people. We pledge to be guided by this fundamental ethical and democratic principle through all of our deliberations on their behalf. I have been charged with ensuring that the process is fair and transparent and I will, By God’s grace do so. Finally, The Government of The Bahamas encourages all Bahamians to exercise their right, to express their views freely, to conduct themselves peacefully and to be tolerant of the views of others.
