Former government minister Rolfe Commissiong has confirmed that he will be running as an independent candidate in Pembroke Central in next month’s General Election.

At a press conference this afternoon, Mr Commissiong said it was time for change to the island’s political order.

He criticised sitting MP and economy and labour minister Jason Hayward for his handling of a dispute between residents and energy provider Belco, which has its plant in the constituency.

Mr Hayward also came under fire for his handling of the economy, with Mr Commissiong claiming he was not an effective minister.

Mr Commissiong served as a Progressive Labour Party MP for neighbouring Pembroke South East from 2012 to 2020.

He was forced to resign just before the October 2020 General Election after making “highly disrespectful” remarks to a woman.

The ruling party reacted swiftly to Mr Commissiong’s announcement, saying his candidacy “under Sir John Swan’s so-called ‘independent’ movement raises serious questions about the judgment and values of this group”.

A spokeswoman added: “While every candidate has the right to stand for election, it’s important to reflect on Mr Commissiong’s history.”

She said his tenure as “the shortest-serving minister” is a matter of public record.

“These are not qualities that inspire confidence or represent the kind of leadership Bermudians deserve.”

She said: “After yesterday's reminder of the work of the Progressive Labour Party government for the women of Bermuda, the choice for the voters of C17 and Bermuda is clear.”

Today Mr Commissiong said: “I just think that we need to have change in leadership now. I’m running as an independent. I believe in the independent movement and I’m not alone.

“Bermuda is overdue for a change in terms of the political order that we’ve been living under for so long. We think that the independent candidate route is the way to begin that process.”

He accused the Government of failing to introduce progressive polices and said it was more concerned with “garnering prestige and status, as opposed to serving the best interests of Bermuda”.

He added: “That’s not what I believe in. That’s not what the PLP that I grew up in believed in, and I think it’s time for a change.

“Both parties represent the status quo. You have what I call respectability politics, which means that it’s not a politician who’s courteous and nice to everyone.

“It means you have a politician who invariably will always defer to the status quo. That status quo is not serving the interests of a broad cross-section of Bermudians.

“Rampant inflation, a high cost of living — we’ve been No 1 in terms of cost of living for the last seven or eight years globally.

“People are really hurting and they’re not having their needs met.

“Jason Hayward has been at the forefront of economic development at a time when we think that his job is not one that he has been up to.

“I believe that people will increasingly see that Bermuda is on a pathway to where we’re getting gentrification.

“They haven’t fostered enough economic development. I don’t think they’ve done a great job at all. It’s been disappointing.”

Mr Commissiong chose to hold his press conference just yards from Belco’s power plant. The company has been in a dispute with neighbouring residents over soot pollution from a generator installed several years ago.

Taking aim at Mr Hayward’s handling of the outcry over the emissions, Mr Commissiong said: “Nothing has been done. Meanwhile the residents of the constituency have been hard done by, by the pollution and emissions that have been routine and blackened their lives if not their houses and affected their children.”

Asked if he decided to stand in the constituency because of the Belco dispute, he said: “Belco’s part of it, but also my family’s had roots here. This year they have seen property values decline. They’re having to use bottled water by the tonne because they can’t trust the water that’s in the tanks.

“Tank water is something that is so embedded in us. That’s not the case around here.

Mr Commissiong was joined at the press conference by two other independent candidates, Sir John Swan, the former premier, and Ci’re Bean.

He described independent candidates as an affiliated group rather than a political party.

He said: “All of us have come together because we share the same vision to some extent of what is happening in Bermuda and how we have to join hands to change things here.

“It doesn’t mean that we’re a party; it means that we’re a coalition with the same interests, to change Bermuda for the better.

“We’re not a party but we’re coming together, pooling resources, to ensure that we can have an effective challenge against the established parties and the status quo they represent in Bermuda.”

Mr Commissiong also denied that independent candidates would split — and weaken — the anti-PLP vote.

“That’s conventional wisdom but we’re in unconventional times,” he said.

“I think we are at a point now where the OBA, the PLP and the independent movement are going to start off at the same point when the bell finally rings on election day.

“I think polls are showing that the PLP vote has really cratered. They are increasingly unpopular from the Premier down, and now it’s spread through the whole government and the party itself.

“I’m not saying they’re a spent force but certainly they are not going to have it all their own way this time.”