COMMUNITY activist Sheelagh Cooper yesterday moved to quash rumours that she will run as a candidate for the All Bermuda Congress (ABC) at the next General Election. The chairman of the Coalition for the Protection of Children admitted a bid for a seat in the House of the Assembly could be in her future, but insisted she has no such intention at present, despite a widely-held opinion to the contrary.

She said she believes the confusion stemmed from a forum organised by the ABC where she spoke as a member of a panel which included the party's organiser Khalid Wasi.

"It was just a forum in which a few people put forward some of their ideas and the one thing we all agreed on was that we were not happy with the two-party system and basically the Westminster System.

"At this point it feels almost like the choices that the voters have going forward are between white elitism and black elitism.

"What bothers me is that usually between elections people will say the two-party system is not a healthy thing for Bermuda. They will say the Westminster approach is one that fuels rancour and reduces the potential for collaboration. People will say all these things and then when you get close to election those same people will jump right into one of the two political camps. I think it's about fear. Maybe people just don't have a vision of what that third alternative could look like."

The system's flaws were dramatically exposed during the last General Election where the margin was so close that "there were five constituencies which won by 25 or less votes", she added.

"The way that the Westminster System works, is it's a winner take all approach which means there's no real debate in the House of Assembly because they can move ahead with whatever they want. I believe the time is right to make a change. My vision going forward includes the fielding of a range of new candidates to run outside of the confines of the two major parties either as members of the All Bermuda Congress, as Green candidates or as independents.

"I and others are committed to supporting and nurturing individuals from a diversity of backgrounds who have integrity, are creative, who are positive, willing to vote with their conscience and above all, committed to working and voting on behalf of their constituents. I'm certainly willing to hear from people who are interested in running as independent candidates. I do have a number of financial people interested in supporting a third option, people who are very disenchanted with the existing situation."

Such individuals would place a priority on excellence in public education, sustainable development, the use of referenda to decide important national issues, quality, accessible healthcare, free speech and an open, accountable Government. They would also consider it important to uphold the principles of human rights and work toward the eradication of racism and ensuring that all Bermudians have access to adequate, affordable housing, she said.

"First among these is a commitment to a code of ethics. The one I am proposing has been adapted from (former Independent MP) Stuart Hayward's work with the Bermuda Leadership Forum and briefly it involves a commitment to the principles of honest, fairness, responsibility, respect and compassion. This applies to the political campaign as well as to the Members' conduct in the House of Assembly. In particular, candidates must agree to conduct a positive campaign based on issues and commitments that are presented in a clear and non-adversarial way. Candidates will not participate in and will condemn the use of personal vilification, defamation, name calling and all other attacks, avoiding demeaning references and demeaning visual images. All statements must be truthful, provable and relevant."

Mrs. Cooper said it was possible she might run as a candidate one day, but only with careful consideration as to how such a move might impact her responsibilities as Coalition head.

"I wouldn't rule it out completely but if I did it would be as an Independent candidate. Quite honestly I think that the role that I play as chairman for the Coalition for the Protection of Children is an important role in this community because 30 per cent of our children are at, or below the poverty line. They're very vulnerable and they now, more than ever need a voice, someone who can advocate on their behalf. In some ways to enter the political fray could easily compromise my ability to advocate on behalf of the children and I wouldn't want to do something that I felt would compromise that. My comments may be construed to be politically motivated and if there's ever an issue that cannot ever become a political football, it's the issue of the protection of children. For those kinds of reasons I'm not inclined to run myself (at the moment), but I'm certainly willing to financially and morally support those who are interested in running."

Mrs. Cooper said she has met with a number of "excellent (potential) candidates" who have yet to come forward but are weighing their options.

"There are many, many constituencies where I believe the people in those constituencies are open to change. In fact the recent polls indicate 13 per cent of the people said they weren't going to vote. Thirty nine per cent said they were not allied to a political party at this time, or were reluctant to share what that alliance might be. That's a big percentage that's uncommitted. The majority of the people fall into that category.

"What I see emerging in the conversations that I've been party to in the All Bermuda Congress is an attempt to really articulate a third option. The principles that are being articulated I think are very good principles. They're much more inclusive. My understanding is if it emerges as a party, it will be a party in name only in the sense that there will be no party whip, that people can vote based on their conscience and according to the wishes of their constituents. Now that in itself is a vast difference from what we're seeing and could change the political landscape and the quality of debate in the House of Assembly."

She admitted that if an election is called within the coming weeks, it would be "difficult to imagine" how the as-yet-unnamed candidates for the ABC would be able to successfully ingratiate themselves with the public.

"Even though there's been a great deal of conversation with many people over the last several years, more time would be better," she said. "But I don't want to speak on their behalf. It's important I clarify I'm not running the ABC. I'm here specifically to assist independent candidates. Some of them may be ABC, I see some Green candidates emerging — a lot of that is the result of the groundswell of public opinion surrounding the hospital issue and the issue out at Southlands. That's a growing, strong group of not just environmentalists, but people interested in sustainable development (who) will pose a major threat to the politics of the day."