Government is looking for someone to replace Lionel Dowling as the Parliamentary Registrar.

Mr. Dowling said he had officially retired from the Civil Service, having reached the mandatory retirement age.

He will continue to serve as a consultant to train his replacement for a year before leaving the Civil Service for good.

Mr. Dowling was hired to get the new office of the Parliamentary Registrar on its feet after Government abolished the system of annual registration of voters in favour of a rolling system.

Voters are required to file changes of their particulars with the Parliamentary Registrar as they occur.

The new rules were tested for the first time last month with the Smith's South by-election.

Critics of the system, such as Shadow Legislative Affairs Minister John Barritt, said it could lead to hundreds of disenfranchised voters and prove to be an administrative nightmare for Mr. Dowling and his staff.

Mr. Dowling said his office had dealt with "about four" appeals over the Smith's South by-election.

All of them came from people who mistakenly thought they were electors of the constituency when in fact they were registered in Smith's North, he said.

"With this new arrangement, under the current Government, I think it's proven to be beneficial to Bermuda," he said.

The new Parliamentary Registrar will receive a salary between $75,000 and $80,000.