The perennial question, “Why vote for an Independent candidate?’, provokes another even more important question, “Why not, given Bermuda’s present two-Party system gridlock, vote Independent?”In addition to all of the laudable reasons argued in favour of voting for an Independent candidate by my fellow Independent candidates Jonathan Starling, Erwin Adderley and Kim Swan; voting for an Independent, particularly in a close constituency fight or election, as this coming one is projected to be, is not in fact a wasted vote as we shall see. It is not a wasted vote in that constituency where that Independent candidate is running nor, when successful, is that Independent MPs vote wasted on the floor of the House of Assembly as we will also come to appreciate.I make the factual and bold assertion that, as one against the other, the Independent MP could be more effective and efficient in your constituency than your party-affiliated MP. That Independent MP bypasses all of the bureaucracy, protocol and delay involved in attempting to get important issues and concerns accepted by and approved through the process of countless meetings at Party central committees, caucuses and Cabinet sessions before they arrive in Parliament sometimes months later. In contrast, your Independent MP, if you apprised him or her of your issue or concern on a Thursday night, could less than 24hours later on Friday be sharing your constituency or national concern with the public over the electronic media from the floor of the House. By the following week he or she, free of party whips and party lines could be laying a Bill before that very same House for debate on those very same issues and concerns.Further, a committed and skilful Independent MP will work diplomatically with all parties, no matter what their party affiliations, in order to resolve national and constituency issues and concerns. If resolution is not possible, then that Independent MP may, again unfettered by party whips and party lines, separately or in conjunction with the official Opposition and other Independents, bring maximum public pressure to bear on the Government of the day to quickly move to resolve those issues and concerns. Do not underestimate the power and influence of the Independent MP.What happens, for example, if in the ‘House’ there is a ‘tied’ vote between the two major parties? There is a stalemate. The Independent, on the basis of principle and not party line or affiliation, can break that tie and be in a position to carry the decision his or her way. Who says the Independent vote or MP has no power or influence and is a wasted vote? The person who says that really doesn’t understand the nuances of politics.More importantly, let’s for example consider the tremendous power and influence of the Independent in the context of a very close or ‘tight’ election on December 17, 2012. Closely consider the following possible, even probable, outcome of that election.Bermuda, as you know has 36 seats in its House of Assembly. What if, just what if two of those are won by Independent candidates, and for want of argument, say Kim Swan and I? By the way, even if only one of us Independents won a seat and the OBA won 18 seats and the PLP 17 seats or vice versa, there could also be a curious result. The country could go ahead with the support of that Independent if he sided with the majority party with 18 seats or be sent back to the polls by reason of a stalemate if the Independent joined with the party with 17 votes. Of course, a coalition government is also possible under this eventuality. But let’s stick with Kim and I winning the two seats. That will leave 34 seats. Now, let’s say the OBA win 17 seats and the PLP win 17 seats. That result would also present a curious election result of a stalemate with no clear-cut winner able to form the government of the day in its own right. The country would be at a standstill politically and constitutionally and would be in danger of going back to the polls or putting the Governor in the untenable and politically difficult position of having to decide which party would govern. In any event, one of these two parties would constitutionally be required to win at least 19 seats to command the ‘confidence of a majority ‘of the 36 members of the House of Assembly in order to become the government of the day. For that to happen, one of the two parties, OBA or PLP, would have to ‘woo’ or come to the two Independent MPs with ‘cap in hand’ for them to make one or the other of these two political parties the Government of the day for the next five years. That, of course, could come at a huge political price. One of those parties may have to include as very high-profile Ministers in its Cabinet both of these two Independent candidates who at any given time could bring down that government. The two Independent MP’s could also insist on a coalition government including deserving Independent MPs, OBA MPs and PLP MPs. Hmmnn…interesting, eh?For some of us, please do not anymore underestimate or under-appreciate the potential power and influence of the Independent candidate or MP in this coming Election. That vote for an Independent candidate might well be a vote for a large silent voice or constituency of voters to be finally heard and who do not subscribe fully or otherwise to the party lines or positions of the OBA or the PLP. Why should they be ‘forced’ to vote for either party? Why then should they not be presented with the alternative and hope of an Independent vote. Why shouldn’t they be placed in a position to exercise their freedom of choice and hope for a better, more prosperous and democratic Bermuda by casting their ballot for an Independent candidate when they do not support the two main Parties? After all, it is their independent and democratic choice in the end and that really is all that matters. Vote independently of any Party. Vote or advocate for an Independent candidate near you! Look closely at who you are voting for. Vote your conscience.