COI Denies Plagiarism of Architectural Drawings as Voters Go to the Polls

Before Bahamians head to the polls, Leader of the Coalition of Independents, Lincoln Bain sought to refute claims that his party plagiarized architectural drawings.

Bain took to social media to clarify plagiarism claims after drawings of a hospital and airport purportedly designed by a candidate of COI made the rounds on Facebook that appeared in Google searches.

Bain said on Wednesday night, the drawings were “only templates” used by his party to present the concept to the public. He accused others of being “mischievous” in an attempt to discredit the party.

The party’s Tall Pines candidate Kendall Richardson, an architect and the purported designer of the drawings agreed with Bain, stating that he purchased the architectural software and was given rights to the drawings that he “reconstruct[ed]” and “made his own.”

In earlier social media posts, Bain boasted of his party’s plan for the “new Bahamas” showing the drawings while claiming they were designed by Richardson.

“The plans are already drawn…He has already designed the hospital. It’s called Health city…There’s going to be spas, things to lower your stress. It’s going to be traditional medicine mixed with alternative medicine.

“We meticulously went through every single room of this hospital…Your candidate was in every single evening planning the new Bahamas…We went through every single part of this, what’s going to happen, where it’s going to happen. This was drawn by our visionary Kendall Richardson.”

Richardson deleted the drawings from his Facebook page after the accusations of plagiarism were levied against him.

Bain and his party have garnered hundreds of followers on social media since promising that his party, if selected by the people, will give one acre of land, $100,000 dollars, and a stimulus package of $2000 to each Bahamian.

It remains to be seen if he can turn followers into voters, as third parties in the country have never been successful at the polls.