Representatives from all three of Bermuda’s political parties came together outside City Hall yesterday as part of a voter-registration drive organised by Bermuda Youth Connect.

Ajai Peets, a BYC cofounder, said the event was one of several to take place before the next election to encourage people to make sure they were registered and their information was up to date.

“An election is imminent. It could happen this year, so we wanted to host this event to get the ball rolling and spread the word about the importance of casting your vote,” she said.

While Ms Peets noted that the drive was focused on encouraging young Bermudians to register to vote — particularly targeting those between 18 and 35 — the event drew a diverse group of people eager to learn more.

She said: “We have had people as young as 16 come and talk to some of our members and we have had older members of the community as well.

“So far it has been very successful. We have had a number of new registrations done today and a lot of community members have come to check to see if they are registered.”

Ms Peets said BYC was joined outside City Hall by representatives of all three of the island’s political parties.

“We have had people from each of the nine parishes come and go to the different parties and ask questions,” she added.

Dwayne Robinson, a One Bermuda Alliance senator, said the party was always happy to support initiatives to get people registered.

“It has been good,” he said. “We have been able to interact with a lot of people. We found out that a lot more people were registered than we had thought, which is a good thing.

“We are hoping we can support Bermuda Youth Connect more in their future endeavours.”

Shomari Talbot-Woolridge, the chairman of Progressive Minds — the Progressive Labour Party’s youth wing — highlighted the importance of making sure young people were eligible to vote.

“Obviously it can be a tough challenge for young people who may be a little disenfranchised with politics, or who feel like they don’t have a voice, so we are trying to galvanise them and excite them and get them more interested in their community and their country,” he said.

“The turnout has been pretty good, pretty steady with a lot of new registrations and changes of address.”

Omar Dill, of the Free Democratic Movement, said he was pleased by the turnout and added: “It was really positive to see all the different people from throughout the entire community.

“What I really enjoyed was having the three political parties in one place, talking to people. It was really a positive example of what democracy in Bermuda should look like.”

Mr Dill said it was important to make sure that everyone eligible to vote knew how to register so that their voice could be heard at the ballot box.

Christian Chin-Gurret, a representative for Bermuda Is Love, said the community action group was eager to help the drive.

“This event is about getting people to vote and to sign up to vote,” he said. “A lot of it has been about awareness.

“People don’t know where to sign up, so we are out here giving them information because knowledge is power.

“We are a community group and we focus on a lot of things. Being able to voice your opinion in an important thing like politics is paramount for civilisation to survive and thrive.”

Separately, an announcement was expected to be made today about an independent candidate who will run in the upcoming by-election for Sandys North.

The seat became vacant with the resignation of Kathy-Lynn Simmons earlier this month.

A by-election — the third in 12 months — has been set for October 4.

• For more information about voter registration, visitwww.elections.gov.bm, e-mail pro@gov.bm or phone 293-8683