SPOILING THE BALLOT IS FOOLISH
Dr. Nicollette Bethel
Dr. Ian Strachan
Nicollette Bethel is the daughter of the late Dr Keva Bethel, who was once president of the College of The Bahamas, the predecessor in title to the University of The Bahamas. She is the niece of the first Bahamian Anglican Bishop Michael Eldon. She is former Director of Culture and now a lecturer at the University and has a Ph. D. She is the ultimate lady of quality.
Ian Strachan is a smart man, a playwright, a Ph. D a lecturer at the University of The Bahamas. His students love him and he is popular on the chat circuit. He has much more potential than he has evidenced in national success. We are all waiting for his moment to come, when he switches to the middle and gets to actually have hands on in public policy. That’s how smart we think he is. For the moment though he is satisfied to be a perpetual iconoclast.
The two of these quality people, amongst the brightest and the best, have now joined forces to tell people they should spoil their ballots at the next general election. This is the fashion now. To say that you won’t participate, a pox on both their houses and that instead of voting for the least bad choice according to them, you should register and then spoil your ballot.
Let us say straight away, this is a patently foolish idea. For this to come from people that this country spent so much of its money on their education is a damn shame. There is no good that can come out of such a suggestion.
The suggestion adds to another thought which has been going round, spun by the talk show host and now Senator Rodney Moncur that people should join him on the beach on that day on election day instead of voting. This from the same man who has been appointed by an elected Member of the House to be a Senator in one of our highest institutions. But he too is spitting on the very system that created him.
We think that both the intellectuals and Senator Moncur should have a reality check. What they ought to be doing is encouraging people to register to vote and to participate in the political process. It is the only one we have and all of us should work to make it better with our every fibre and breath.
We urge everyone to ignore this nonsense about spoiling the ballot. Go out get registered and vote for the person of your choice.