A story on Independence in last Saturday's paper should have stated that at least 40 percent of all eligible voters must vote in favour of Independence in order for the referendum to be valid. A simple majority would then resolve the issue.

The Committee for the Independence of Bermuda does not appear to have given up on achieving a yes vote in the Independence referendum planned for this summer.

But after the Progressive Labour Party called for a boycott of the referendum on Thursday, committee chairman Mr. Walton Brown said: "We have little hope now that the referendum will be successful.'' Normally, a referendum is decided by a simple majority of votes cast. But the Independence referendum has an additional requirement. A full 40 percent of all eligible voters must vote "yes'' to give Government an Independence mandate.

The PLP won 46 percent of votes cast in the 1993 general election. And while the United Bermuda Party has no position on Independence, the PLP officially favours it. So if PLP supporters heeded the boycott call, any chance of a yes vote would probably be effectively killed.

But yesterday, Mr. Brown said the committee's executive met last night and arrived at "a strategy'' for the referendum.

The committee would announce "the steps we're prepared to take'' next week, possibly on Wednesday, he said.

The only person on the 11-member executive who did not attend Thursday night's meeting was Mr. Dale Butler, Mr. Brown said.

Mr. Butler was quoted on Friday as saying he would heed the PLP's call for a boycott, despite the stance of the Committee for the Independence of Bermuda.

"We each have our own individual position, and the committee has a position,'' Mr. Brown said. "I'll leave it at that.'' Mr. Butler could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Last week, when Mr. Brown announced that his committee would support the Independence referendum, Opposition Leader Mr. Frederick Wade said the group was "largely one or two people,'' who "don't have any constituency at all.'' Yesterday, Mr. Brown said his committee has a paid membership of 120.

Meanwhile, UBP executive officer Mr. Oliver Bain yesterday described the PLP stance as "morally wrong''.

The PLP wished to deny Bermudians their constitutional right to take part in the vote, Mr. Bain said in a news release. "Nothing is politically right which is morally wrong.'' The referendum, which was approved by the Senate on Wednesday, is likely to be held in late July or August.