MPs today hammered the final nail into the coffin of the property vote, abolishing the right of business owners to cast a ballot in municipal elections.An order allowing only residents to vote in elections held by the Corporation of Hamilton and Corporation of St George was approved in the House of Assembly.Deputy Premier Derrick Burgess, who tabled the legislation, told the House of Assembly the change would ensure proper democracy in both municipalities.“Elections held in a democratic country is not about any special privileges to a business vote,” he said. “It’s about one man, one vote, of equal value. This bill is not contrary to the Constitution of Bermuda. It’s in line with the Constitution.”MPs from both opposition parties claimed it was a form of taxation without representation and unfairly removed the rights of business owners to have a say in the way things are run.The Municipalities (Election) Order 2011 will apply the Parliamentary Election Act to municipal elections, meaning they are now run in the same way as national elections.Anyone “ordinarily resident in a municipal area” will be allowed to vote and electors’ names will be taken from the annual Parliamentary Register, which is compiled in June.Mr Burgess described the change as “a long and courageous process” adding: “Democratic change is not always easy.”The order brings into effect changes already made to the way the Corporations conduct their elections under the Municipalities Reform Act 2010.That piece of legislation gave all residents on the electoral register the right to vote, repealing the original 1923 Act, and abolishing multiple votes for business owners with many properties.