Bermudian people especially the youth, its chairman said last night.

And the party is very concerned that the ruling party denies a chance to vote to students overseas who are a "responsible sector'' of society.

Charles Jeffers was speaking at the third forum held by the National Youth Council at the Bermuda College.

Mr. Jeffers told the audience of about 25 people that young people must be able to "stand up and be counted''.

He added: "If you are of voting age, your time is now.'' He promised his party would address issues important to young people like education, crime, housing and employment.

Mr. Jeffers gave strong support for an absentee ballot for Bermuda's youth who study abroad and said he understood there would need to be an infrastructure to implement it properly.

He added: "It is a simple system. And it is not by chance that we do not have it. It is a shame our students cannot be a part of the process.'' Speaking about the potential for Bermudians being granted full British citizenship, he said there was cause for concern that some international companies may lean toward sovereign countries over dependent territories.

Mr. Jeffers linked an article in yesterday's Royal Gazette about French owned SG Private Banking's choice of Bahamas over Bermuda and yesterday's editorial.

"The two issues are of great concern,'' he said adding that his party had long supported independence for Bermuda and such recent developments may force the issue.

He added: "We may not have much of a choice. It may be given to us. We believe we should not wait.''