National

FNM Chairman: It Was an Epic Failure, a Disgrace, and a Disaster

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Advance poll chaos sparked sharp political backlash, with FNM Chairman Dr. Duane Sands calling the process a “disaster” and PLP Chairman Fred Mitchell dismissing the criticism as political theatrics.

Published

3 weeks ago

May 1, 2026

Delvardo Emmanuel

NASSAU , BAHAMAS –

Dr. Duane Sands – Chairman, Free National Movement

“I would only say it was an epic failure. It was a disgrace, it was a disaster. The most benevolent thing we could say, the kindest thing we could say, is that they were incompetent. A more realistic assessment is that this was a deliberate attempt to upset the people of The Bahamas. The only thing that ought to come from this is that Harrison Thompson and other senior Parliamentary Registration Department staff should either resign or be fired.”

Free National Movement Chairman Dr. Duane Sands shared sharp criticism of yesterday’s fiasco at the advance polls.

Thousands of approved advance voters turned out Thursday, hoping to be in and out, but the process was far from smooth at nearly every polling station across New Providence.

In response, the Parliamentary Registration Department described turnout as unprecedented, saying the volume exceeded projections and placed pressure on processing times and logistics at several polling stations.

Meanwhile, the FNM chairman said those problems should have been avoided with better planning.

Dr. Duane Sands – Chairman, Free National Movement

“The Parliamentary Registration Department approved 26,000 people to vote in advance polls across The Bahamas and New Providence. So they should have done the logistics to prepare for the elderly, the disabled, for the flow of people in and out, et cetera, to make sure that there was adequate staff and that the ballots were available.”

Dr. Sands also argued the advance poll should prioritize those who genuinely need early access.

Dr. Duane Sands – Chairman, Free National Movement

“It ain’t for the able-bodied person, except for those who have legitimate reasons, either because of surgery or travel plans that they cannot change, et cetera. The majority of people who were approved to vote in advance were healthy adults.”

Progressive Liberal Party Chairman Fred Mitchell dismissed critics, and called it political theatrics.

Fred Mitchell – Chairman, Progressive Liberal Party

“This is really another sad problem for the FNM. There will always be administrative errors, and those are correctable. There is nothing that we see that affects the fundamentals of the election. The criticism by the FNM is trying to set up a pretext for a loss in the general election.”