A former Free Democratic Movement candidate is to run for the One Bermuda Alliance at the next General Election.

Chris Gauntlett is the adopted candidate for Sandys South Central (Constituency 34).

Mr Gauntlett, a boat captain and pilot who runs Blue Water Divers and Watersports in Dockyard, was born and raised in the parish before attending university in Ontario.

The 50-year-old spent his childhood on the water, working on tour boats and in boat rental shops until he learnt to scuba dive at the age of 16.

He has been involved in the scuba diving tourism industry ever since.

The father of two also served in the Royal Bermuda Regiment after graduating from university, rising to the rank of captain during his 15 years in uniform.

He has additional experience of the corporate world, juggling his military duties with employment in the reinsurance and foreign exchange industries at Bermudian-based companies until 2012, when he took over Blue Water Divers.

Mr Gauntlett has also been a member of a number of boards and committees related to corporate charitable contributions, tourism and the island's ocean environment.

In the October 2020 General Election, he represented the newly formed FDM in Southampton West and received 100 votes.

The seat was won by the Progressive Labour Party’s Scott Simmons with 551 votes; Karen Magnum came in second with 131 votes for the OBA.

Speaking about his decision to enter the political arena again, Mr Gauntlett said: "I think Bermuda has struggled, politically, for so long that we've forgotten that it can be better.

“We've forgotten how to work together for an outcome that benefits everyone.

“We've recently been accused by the Government of trying to be all things for all people, as if that's a valid criticism of the type of person who is in the OBA.

“It may not be possible to find a perfect answer to a problem but benefiting everyone should still be the goal. The goal guides the journey."

Kim Wilson, the Minister of Health, is the incumbent MP for Sandys South Central.

She won comfortably in 2020, securing more than 75 per cent of the vote for the PLP.