Dear Sir,

The past week has been a trying time for a lot of Bermudians. A number of issues, both morally and legally, have been raised and discussed at length as a result. Unfortunately, one of the most concerning issues has been overlooked.

While freedom of speech and the right to peacefully protest are among our democratic rights, and should be upheld, so too should the same rights be given to our elected officials to do their job. We may not entirely agree with everything that a government attempts to achieve, but it remains that we voted them in to do such a job.

The protesters that prevented the MPs from entering Parliament infringed upon the rights of every Bermudian who was not there that day. We voted the MPs into power and we expect them to be able to do their job. Our democratic right was taken away by the actions of these few by not allowing the MPs to do the job we asked them to do.

Does our vote no longer matter?

It would appear so, as this is the second time this has happened in nine months.

RONAN KANE