Youth groups are disappointed that the timing of the General Election could prevent many students studying overseas from voting.

David Burt said the island stood on “the cusp of a pivotal time” after calling a February 18 election at a hastily arranged press conference at Alaska Hall on Wednesday.

The Premier argued that the Budget for the coming fiscal year, which is usually a February affair, would need to reflect the collective wishes of the electorate.

However, Rico Cabral, one of his constituents in Pembroke West Central, said the announcement filled him with anger.

“As soon as students return to university, they call an election,” he added.

Mr Cabral told The Royal Gazette he believed the Government sensed that “they won't do well in the polls with the youth”.

He added: “They say they are for the youth of our beautiful island, but yet they keep us down and out of position to make our decision on who to vote for — it's our right to vote who we want to vote for.”

Mr Cabral said he would “never forget this” and that “being put in a helpless position doesn't sit right with me one bit”.

The lack of progress extending the vote to students abroad prompted a joint statement from Bermuda Youth Connect, Bermuda Is Love and Taj Donville-Outerbridge, a young activist, writer and political commentator.

They declared themselves “profoundly disappointed” with the election timing while “droves of young Bermudians are off the island in pursuit of higher education”.

“The Premier’s choice denies young Bermudians their right to vote, participate in the electoral process, and have a direct influence on Bermuda’s future.”

They called it “troubling, perplexing” and reminiscent of a past that the island’s leaders had condemned.

The group referenced remarks ahead of the 1998 General Election that put the Progressive Labour Party in government for the first time.

On that occasion Derrick Burgess, the Deputy Speaker of the House, who was then leader of the Bermuda Industrial Union, accused the United Bermuda Party administration of deliberately timing the polls for when students would be out of the country.

Mr Burgess stated he was “concerned that parents of overseas students, already overladen with steep tuition and school expenses, should even have to consider the additional expense of bringing home a child for a day or two to vote”.

The joint statement yesterday said tuition had “nearly tripled” since 1998, while aviation deregulation had led to “exorbitant flight costs — drastically increasing the same barriers for youth to vote”.

The group said the island stood at “a critical juncture, with an ageing population, declining birthrate, rising costs of living and an alarming number of Bermudians leaving the island for stability”.

“Young people are critical to improving our island. Yet, for many young people, this election would have been their first opportunity to vote since the 2020 snap election.”

Bermuda Youth Connect highlighted it had been founded during the 2020 election “in response to gaps across the board in youth engagement”.

The statement called on young people to sign up to vote. It added: “The registration deadline is January 16, 2025, and voters can update their information or register to vote at http://elections.gov.bm.

“As we gear up for the next General Election, we look forward to the events that Bermuda Youth Connect will host as we dare to invent the future we want to see.

“We encourage you all to do the same.”

Last night, Ben Smith, the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, said: “It’s an absolute shame that young voters who are studying overseas have no way of casting a ballot.

“They are the future of Bermuda yet this government has repeatedly demonstrated their voices do not matter. Yet they are constantly being told that they are the jewels of Bermuda’s future. How?”

Mr Smith accused the Premier of deliberately choosing the date when young voters would be abroad.

“The OBA government will make Parliament reform and absentee ballots a priority,” he said.

“We are in serious financial times and it would be a travesty for parents to have to dig deeper into their pockets to fly their children home to vote.”

He called it “an unnecessarily expensive problem that could easily be fixed through voter reform”.

Mr Smith added: “The One Bermuda Alliance fully supports voter reform so that everyone who is eligible to vote can no longer be denied the opportunity to do so.”

The issue has been raised before. Many young voters felt disenfranchised ahead of the 2012 General Election on December 17. Estimates based on online surveys said that the timing would leave at least 170 eligible voters in the cold that year.

Absentee ballots were examined by the OBA government, which won a single term in 2012, and which had pledged to reform the electoral process ahead of its victory. It set up a committee to examine the procedure in 2013.

In 2016, Michael Fahy, who was Minister of Home Affairs, told the Gazette it was still under review for students but could not be extended to Bermudians who had changed their place of residence.

Jonathan Starling, a political commentator who called for electoral reform as an independent candidate in 2012, has advocated for absentee ballots and fixed-term elections timed to maximise voter representation.

Mr Starling said yesterday: “It is disappointing that overseas students will have difficulty voting in this election.

“I do support introducing some mechanism to allow ordinarily resident voters the ability to vote — though how we would realise this is a question, as we would need to balance the costs involved, equal opportunity to vote and security.”

He added: “Other countries have obviously figured that out, so at least we won’t have to reinvent the wheel.

“One option could be simply to introduce fixed-term elections and hold them at a time when most students would be on island — say the summer, or Christmas breaks.

“I suggested previously a June date for such fixed-term elections.”