A One Bermuda Alliance government would introduce absentee balloting within a year of being elected to office, its leader pledged today.

The party held a press conference at its Reid Street headquarters this morning, when Jarion Richardson called on the electorate to vote for the OBA to help to “correct the course of this country”.

Later, the Progressive Labour Party hit back at comments made during the press conference and claimed that the OBA was asking the country to forget its history.

Mr Richardson said that if his team won the election, within the first year of being in office, absentee balloting would be on offer for voters who are typically resident on the island.

“We are here for you and we are one Bermuda, that includes those of us temporarily overseas,” he said.

“We commit that within the first year of this government, we will finish what we started by providing absentee voting for students and others ordinarily resident on the island.”

The PLP came under heavy criticism after the General Election was called last week as young voters claimed they had been disenfranchised owing to the poll’s timing on February 18, when overseas students are likely to be off the island.

Young voters faced the same predicament ahead of the 2012 General Election on December 17, when the OBA was elected.

That government examined absentee voting during the party’s single term in office and set up a committee to explore the possibility in 2013.

In 2016, Michael Fahy, then the Minister of Home Affairs, told The Royal Gazette that the move was still under review.

Speaking on why it had not advanced then, Mr Richardson said the OBA faced tumultuous times when last elected, which forced the administration to prioritise other matters.

He said: “The OBA government in 2012 had a substantial amount of issues to deal with quite urgently and that included the ability to feed people, the economy had tanked, the Government had run out of money and couldn’t pay the civil servants.”

Mr Richardson said that splitting the vote between the four main political forces — the PLP, the OBA, the Free Democratic Movement and independent candidates — carried the risk of four more years of PLP rule to “break our back”.

“We have more political choices,” he said. “On the face of it, this is a good thing, more voices and perspectives in politics, more scrutiny and ultimately more accountability.

“However, this comes at a tremendous risk.

“Multiple non-PLP candidates in any given constituency will ensure the Burt administration maintains its grip on us.

“If we split the non-PLP vote among the OBA, other parties and independents, we will guarantee the PLP another four years.”

The PLP said later: “The real danger is putting the OBA back in power.

“When they had their chance to lead, they failed Bermudians.

“They presided over austerity measures that hurt families, ignored the needs of working people and left our economy weaker.”

Asked whether the OBA had a budget prepared or would largely operate under the PLP’s proposed budget in the event of election night victory, Mr Richardson replied: “We have a fantastic shadow finance minister and so we started our budgeting evaluation process some time ago.

“With that said, there is a reality that there is not a lot of time left to deal with this budget.”

He added: “Yes, it is going to be another stress point that we are going to have to deal with but we are equipped to deal with it and we have a fantastic team.”

Mr Richardson said that the OBA would avoid over-reliance on the corporate income tax, which could generate $750 million in annual revenues for the Government.

He added: “Bermuda can’t depend on miracles; we have to depend on ourselves, our regular resources, on making mature and tough decisions."

Mr Richardson said the OBA has a full slate of candidates for the election and added: “The OBA is ready for you, your family and your friends.”

He said the OBA had revealed “massive consultant fee schemes” and highlighted the revelation that Kathy Lynn Simmons, a former Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs and Constitutional Reform, had hired her husband, Myron Simmons, to work for her.

Calling this “the tip of the iceberg”, he added: “I am very worried about what we will find when we become the government.”

He accused the PLP of “stunning neglect” including in areas around infrastructure, public education and local business.

Mr Richardson challenged the electorate to compare the OBA with the PLP and said: “Forty days before an election, the [David] Burt administration becomes suddenly concerned about infrastructure, housing, rising food prices, public transportation, mental health services, environmental protection — the list goes on and on and on.

“They call an election campaign with promises to fix the millions of problems that they created or oversaw. ‘Re-elect us,’ they say, ‘and we will put out this fire we started’.”

The OBA leader promised that his party would offer real solutions continuously, provide sound financial management rather than “accounting tricks”, and action when problems arise, not just during an election year.

He said the OBA promised, “year-round attention to our community’s needs, real sustainable solutions, not quick fixes, honest financial management, not accounting tricks, long-term planning, not election-cycle thinking, and actions when problems arise, not when votes are needed”.

The PLP countered: “The OBA is desperately trying to distract from their own disastrous history in government.

“Under their leadership, we saw cuts to education, slashes to social programmes and policies that left Bermudians struggling while their wealthy friends got ahead.

“The truth is, the OBA has no real solutions for the issues facing our people, so they resort to attacks and fearmongering.“

The PLP described the OBA platform as a “flimsy pamphlet” with no real solutions.

It said: “Bermudians deserve thoughtful and realistic plans to address our challenges — not vague promises, empty slogans and recycled rhetoric.

“The PLP’s track record of delivering increased pensions, increased investment in education, scholarships and affordable housing is a sharp contrast from the OBA pushing a shared sacrifice that pushed all the burden on our most vulnerable while the wealthy and privileged were not asked to pay their fair share.

“The PLP will release our platform prior to the General Election.

“Unlike the OBA's pamphlet, it will contain a realistic and attainable blueprint to keep Bermuda making steady progress towards a fairer Bermuda for the many and not just their privileged few.”