Britain should establish a commission to review Bermuda’s existing electoral system, according to UBP MP Kim Swan.Mr Swan’s suggestion is contained in a submission from the UBP to a White Paper on Overseas Territories Government and the One Bermuda Alliance have already published their suggestions.“Whilst we recognise that Bermuda enjoys the most advanced constitution of all of the British Overseas Territories; we nonetheless continue to advance our position(s) through Government House which are focused on strengthening our democracy with a view to create a fairer and more just society.“We encouraged the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to consider establishing an electoral commission to review the current electoral system in Bermuda to combat the huge percentage of safe seats, the continued impact of racial polarisation in Bermuda and the fact that less than 53 percent of the popular vote, on two occasions (2003 and 2007) has given the government a lopsided majority of nearly 65 percent of the seats in Parliament,” said Mr Swan.The submission recommends looking at:n a form of proportional representationn The merits of an elected senate;n The merits of a unicameral system; andn Establishing fixed term electionsMr Swan added: “We re-emphasized our support for a referendum to consider Independence for Bermuda and pointed out that the position is also supported by a comprehensive petition. numerous opinion polls and expressions by constituents.“We (UBP) have been consistent on this issue over many years, but it is our duty to keep this position in front of Government House and the FCO to ensure that the electorate of Bermuda via a referendum are the ones to decide on a matter as important as Independence.“We continue to reiterate the need for Bermuda to modernise our voting process (re: absentee balloting, eliminate registration during a writ period, revamp scrutineers process), which is under jurisdiction of the Parliamentary Registrar, a position we have consistently shared with Government House and the Parliamentary Registrar.“We have appreciated the ongoing discussions with Government House on these and other matters and look forward to reviewing the pending White Paper on the British Overseas Territories.”In its submission, Government, among other things, said Bermuda should have a Central Bank and it asked the question: “If Bermuda became independent, would the UK undertake not to revoke British passports held by Bermudians?”The One Bermuda Alliance, in its submission, called for a series of changes to the Bermuda Constitution, changes to the justice system and a raft of rules and institutions to promote good governance.It asked the UK to consider a Constitutional Conference for Bermuda and a UK-Overseas Territories conference which would set standards of good governanceAnd it said the UK should provide some clarity on what constitutes a “clear and constitutionally expressed wish” of Bermudians for IndependenceThe submission also suggested that the cause of good governance could be served by changing the electoral system to a proportional representation system, fixed term elections, creating a new Electoral Commission which would enforce an election Code of Conduct and an absentee ballot system* What do you think? E-mail news[AT]royalgazette.bm.