supporters can return from abroad and vote on October 5, a Progressive Labour Party candidate has alleged.

The UBP said Mr. Julian Hall's charge was "an outright lie.'' Mr. Hall made the allegation in a PLP campaign television commercial. He repeated it yesterday in an interview with The Royal Gazette .

But Mr. Hall softened the charge in the interview. The fund was "not necessarily part of the UBP central office campaign funds,'' or even "under the auspices of the UBP,'' he said.

It was possible "one or more wealthy UBP supporters have decided to put together a fund'' to bring home overseas students who were "known supporters of the UBP,'' and lived in marginal constituencies.

If that was the case, "it would still put into high relief the fundamental difference between the UBP and the PLP,'' Mr. Hall said.

It demonstrated the unfairness of Premier the Hon. Sir John Swan calling the election when hundreds of students were away at school, he said. "The vast majority of our student supporters just happen to be people who can ill afford to fly into Bermuda for one day,'' he said. "The PLP doesn't have a bottomless pit of money. We don't have supporters who are going to write out cheques'' to pay their airfares.

The UBP was insincere when it lowered the voting age to 18 from 21, Mr. Hall said.

Mr. Joe Gibbons, the UBP's executive officer, described Mr. Hall's comments as "mischievous.'' "There is no slush fund,'' he said. "At no time has money come out of this party to bring students from overseas for the purpose of voting.'' Nor was Mr. Gibbons aware of a "wealthy benefactor'' putting up money for that purpose.

"Anybody out there can bring their families and friends home to vote,'' said Mr. Gibbons, adding he was aware of individuals who were bringing their children back from university for what they saw as an important election.

"I'm sure those in other political parties here would do likewise.'' Mr. Hall, an incumbent in Hamilton West, said he learned of the "slush fund'' from three separate UBP members. He would not identify them.

A former UBP deputy chairman, Mr. Hall quit the party in 1980. When he was a member, the UBP made sure supporters were "properly funded'' to return from overseas and vote in marginal constituencies, he said.