The governing party has questioned whether One Bermuda Alliance candidates — Shadow Finance Minister Bob Richards and Jeff Sousa — qualify to run for elective office.The move forced the OBA to take legal advice and reassure the public that its candidates had nothing to worry about.Anthony Santucci chairman of the Progressive Labour Party said in a statement that the Constitution requires parliamentary candidates’ interests to be published — and that the OBA had not done so.But the OBA says that it had taken legal advice and that none of its candidates can be disqualified.“We are gravely concerned that the OBA has not acted as the law requires and published its members’ interests in a local newspaper. They have spoken often about transparency and openness yet have failed to show this in a fundamental requirement before the election,” said Mr. Santucci.“More importantly, any candidate who has not declared an interest in any government contract is automatically disqualified as a candidate. Section 30 (6) of the Bermuda Constitution is very clear:“Subject to such exceptions and limitations as may be prescribed by the Legislature, a person shall not be qualified to be elected as a member of the House of Assembly if he has an interest in any Government contract and has not, within seven days of his nomination as a candidate for election, disclosed the nature of the contract and his interest therein by means of a notice published in the Gazette or in a newspaper published and circulating in Bermuda.”He said at least one member of the OBA should be disqualified as a candidate.An OBA spokesperson responded by saying that all the party’s candidates had confirmed that they had no interest to declare.The PLP chairman then revealed that Mr Richards had declared interests in Government contracts as director and qualified shareholder of BITS Ltd.“Mr Richards is still listed as President and is a shareholder of Bermuda Information Technology Services Limited in his Declaration of Interest that can be found online at parliament.bm,” Mr Santucci said.“Based on this evidence it is puzzling that Mr Richards and the OBA feel that this information should not be published as the law of Bermuda requires, especially given that we understand that this company still has contracts with the Bermuda Government.”He added that another OBA candidate Jeff Sousa had in 2007 declared his interests as “President and Qualifying shareholder in Sousa’s Landscape Management Company Limited”.“We also understand that Mr Sousa’s company still has a contract with the Government of Bermuda.”Mr Santucci continued: “Has something changed since 2007 and if not, what does Mr Richards, Mr Sousa and the OBA have to hide? The Constitution of Bermuda is clear on the legal obligations for transparency of Parliamentary candidates and, given the above, it is clear that Mr Richards and the OBA have wilfully and flagrantly ignored the law of the land.“Since this campaign began, numerous questions have been raised that the OBA have either been unable to answer or simply refused to answer.“Whether it was their attempt to cover up the Secret Plan to form the OBA and increase their use of ‘black surrogates,’ or their conflicting and contradictory positions on FutureCare, Day Care and cutting jobs in the civil service, the OBA stands revealed as an organisation that appears to be committed to hiding the truth about who they are, what they will do and what they are about.“We call on the OBA to come out of the shadows and stop hiding. Tell the people of Bermuda when Mr Richard’s interest in the multi-million dollar government contract ended. Bermudians have a right to know.”The OBA then issued a statement saying that its lawyers had confirmed that its candidates need not be concerned about disqualification.“In light of continuing attacks by Mr Santucci and his colleagues, Mr E.T. (Bob) Richards has taken advice from senior legal counsel and his opinion is that Mr Richards is clearly not disqualified and that the Parliamentary Registrar has no authority to declare him or any other candidate disqualified,” said OBA Chairman Thad Hollis.“Candidate Mr Jeff Sousa has also taken legal advice and he has confirmed he has no interest to declare.“The continuing PLP campaign of distortion, lies and spin is a desperate attempt to distract voters from the real issues facing Bermuda. It is telling these attacks came the same day that Anchor Investment Management’s Bermuda Economic Update warned of a potential Bermuda ‘debt crisis’.“The One Bermuda Alliance will not be sidetracked from our mission to build a Bermuda based on social and economic equity for all, leaving no one behind, with good-paying jobs, safe neighbourhoods, great schools and making Bermuda affordable.”