With less than ten months before a General Election must be called, Bermuda's youth have mixed emotions on whether their votes will make a difference.

Some of them shared their intentions with The Royal Gazette during a recent street poll.

While all understood that completing the Parliamentary Registration form is the law, some were not interested in politics and were content to leave it to their elders.

Darmell Lambert, 18, said although he was not registered yet, he intended to be registered in time.

Janita Thomas, 20, will not be voting, but is registered to vote.

The file clerk described the attitude of her peers as one of, "it seems like you add another vote and then the same people get re-elected''.

Trevor Simmons has not registered and has no intention of registering.

The 20-year-old simply said: "That sort of thing doesn't interest me.'' Teenagers Bobbi-Jo Marshall and Amie Dawson described the apathy of other young people, saying that no-one cared to ask young people their opinions or did things that would make them trust politics and politicians.

Miss Marshall said although she was too young to vote this time, she was still uninterested in elections.

However, her 18-year-old friend Amie is registered and intends to vote in the upcoming election.

Some young people believed older people did not want them to vote and did not care if they did, she said.

Student Kimberly Joslyn proudly declared that she was signed up in her constituency and would be voting.

The 18-year-old Bermuda College student said she was quite interested in her country's politics.

Two young men who will have to be registered for the first time this year were split on their intentions to vote.

Jason Simons, 17, intends to vote while his friend Chad Townsell was not as certain.

Both confirmed that they and their peers felt excluded from the political process in Bermuda.

Mr. Townsell said: "No-one listens, so why vote.'' Mr. Simons said some young people believed politics was for adults and not for the youth.

But Quincy Hunt was certain about being registered, and equally certain about the value of his vote and his right to withhold it.

When asked if his peers were interested in politics and intended to vote, he said: "If they want the things they say they want, then they have to.'' The 22-year-old added that he did participate in the 1995 Referendum on Independence.

Amie Dawson Graphic file name: AMIE Kimberley Joslyn Graphic file name: KIMBERLE Jason Simons Graphic file name: JASSON Chad Townsell Graphic file name: CHAD