The public are being invited to comment on how Bermuda's Constitution can be changed.

The move, sparked by Britain, comes after controversy over the PLP Government moving to single seats simply by passing a law in Parliament.

Governor Sir John Vereker said in a press release: “The Bermuda Constitution was last amended in February of this year, changing the system of elections to the Bermuda House of Assembly from dual-seat to single-seat constituencies.

“Although not widespread, there were some concerns raised at the time regarding a clear and standard procedure for considering future proposals for constitutional amendment. As a result, the Governor was asked by the UK Secretary of State to explore the issue locally and determine if interested parties in Bermuda could come forward with acceptable proposals for procedures to be followed in future.”

And last night, the move by Government House was welcomed by both the Opposition United Bermuda Party and constitutional lobby group the Association for Due Process, which battled for several months for wider consultation on the changes being proposed by Government.

Bermuda's Constitution can only be amended by the British Government but the document itself does not say what should take place before amendments go forward.

The Governor said in February this would be looked at after he announced the move to 36 single seat constituencies after Ministers said the process had highlighted the need for a generally acceptable procedure.

Britain has called for a transparent process with ordinary citizens and political parties consulted as widely as possible.

Sir John waited until after the General Election and problems caused by Hurricane Fabian had diminished before embarking on the process.

In his statement, released at the weekend, Sir John said in order for proposals to be acceptable to Britain there should first be an agreed signal Bermuda wanted to amend its Constitution and there should be a transparent process of consultation on the basis of all the relevant information.

The press release poses some questions including whether parties other than the Bermuda and the UK Governments could initiate constitutional change, whether it was Government or the whole of Parliament which set the process in motion, and whether a two-thirds majority was needed.

Other issues include if there was any role for the Senate and whether there should be a referendum and how other consultation should be organised.

Opposition leader Grant Gibbons said he was pleased the Governor was taking the issue up again.

“We are very supportive of working out proposals for how future amendments to the Constitution can be handled,” said Dr. Gibbons. “We plan to participate in the process.”

The Opposition has yet to work out its response, but Dr. Gibbons said there were various ways of approving Constitutional change including referenda, a modern version of a constitutional conference and a two-thirds majority in the House.

He said it was important to establish a formula because other than the British Government's veto powers, there were no other checks and balances stopping a government pushing through tremendous changes to the way the Island was governed.

Warren Cabral, of the Association for Due Process and the Constitution, which fought hard to have wider consultation and a conference on any changes to the Constitution, claiming Government had failed to do that, said last night that he was pleased Government House would be looking at the issue further.

He said: “We welcome this move. We have been looking forward to it. We wrote to the Governor just prior to the General Election to enquire when he would be doing it and he has kept to his word and we are very pleased about that.

“The association will be making a formal submission on the proposal to amend the Constitution and the methodology.”

Proposals in e-mail form will be accepted from political parties, civil society organisations and individuals.

They should be sent to dep@govibl.bm. No one-on-one or group meetings will be held. Written submissions will be accepted only.