emotion. Bermuda is no exception. Emotion is bound to be high in this Country where the ruling party is trying to keep power after over 30 years of governing and where the Opposition came very close to winning in 1993 and can taste victory in 1998.

Individuals feel strongly. Groups feel strongly. Supporters of both parties feel that they have a great deal to lose if the other party wins. The race is close.

We can only hope that emotions, no matter how strong, will be kept in check and that the election will proceed in a democratic fashion without untoward incident.

We would have thought that right now there are plenty of party political advertisements appearing in the media to satisfy anyone's taste. Print ads, radio ads and TV ads appear almost without stop and this time both parties seem to have enough money to promote as they please. Yet some people have taken it upon themselves to circulate flyers in certain districts and generally about Bermuda. Clearly most of these flyers would not be supported by a political party as party political advertisements but they are obviously produced by party supporters.

Most people will see them for what they are and simply ignore them. However there are some people who may be misled by innuendo and half-truths and during election time we should all guard against misleading the voters.

A fair number of the flyers claim to be produced by "The Organisation for The Preservation of Bermudians'', whatever that means. The content might well have been lifted from a Hitler Youth manual. One is a very curious "Dear Friends'' letter from Raymond Russell who is a prolific writer of letters to the Editor.

He accuses this newspaper of "a false cycle of accepting'' that Southampton West is a UBP stronghold. At least one flyer identifies itself as coming from a fax machine at Penboss Travel, Bermuda.

Our point is simply that Bermuda is a well-organised country and Bermudians are a well educated and very sensible people. This kind of campaigning does not have a place in today's Bermuda, or should not have a place. Campaign, by all means. Fight hard, by all means. But we find it hard to believe that dirty tricks have a valid part to play in Bermuda. Dirty tricks, salacious rumours, and suspect fliers, demean the people spreading them and embarrass the political party they seek to support. They also demean Bermuda.

We can only urge people who receive them or who are handed these flyers to point out to the people circulating them that this is not the best way for Bermudian politics or for Bermuda.