Bermuda Democratic Alliance has at least 20 candidates lined up for the next General Election.

Chairman Michael Fahy yesterday said the Alliance will contest every marginal seat as it prepares for a possible election early in the new Premier's reign.

The BDA's three MPs, Mr. Fahy and leader Craig Cannonier are all certain to stand, as well as deputy leader Kathy Michelmore, former United Bermuda Party candidates Wayne Scott and Sean Pitcher, and party members Dueane Dill and Granville Gibbons.

Mr. Fahy said at least another ten will be rolled out in the coming weeks having successfully gone through a selection process.

He would not reveal names but said they are mainly new to the political arena and have backgrounds in business and as professionals.

Others, including former Progressive Labour Party member Myron Piper, are considering running in addition to the 20 or so already confirmed, with funding pledges in place to support large numbers of candidates.

"We can field 20 candidates today — they've been interviewed and meet our constitutional requirements — and a number of other people have expressed interest," Mr. Fahy told The Royal Gazette. "We are looking at running quality candidates in areas where we think it's possible for them to win. Any marginal constituency is certainly a constituency of interest."

Mr. Cannonier has widely been expected to run in St. David's, where he grew up and is a well-known figure in the community.

But he said he may in fact run in St. George's where he could tackle some of the much-publicised difficulties in the Olde Towne labelled a ghost town by many.

"I may feel number three (St. David's) is the best place for me to run, but that may not necessarily be for the benefit of Bermuda as a Country.

"The concerns of St. George's may outweigh St. David's," said Mr. Cannonier, who is the first non-MP to lead one of Bermuda's political parties.

Mark Pettingill has previously spoken of his interest in staying in Warwick West, where he has been involved in a public war of words with his UBP replacement candidate Jeff Sousa.

Earlier this summer, House leader Shawn Crockwell said he was likely to stand again in Pembroke West, where he'd be up against veteran former UBP MP Erwin Adderley, but added the Alliance needs to be clever about where it fields its candidates. UBP insiders say the party still regards Warwick West and Pembroke West as strongholds — despite losing likely voters in Warwick West due to proposed boundary changes — meaning Mr. Pettingill and Mr. Crockwell both face tough tasks retaining their seats.

The third MP, Donte Hunt, has stiff competition from both established parties which have their eyes on his St. George's South constituency.

All four East End constituencies have produced close races at recent elections, while other potential marginals include Devonshire East, Devonshire North Central, Southampton East Central and Smith's North, where sitting MPs Bob Richards, Glenn Blakeney, Zane DeSilva and Patrice Minors could all be targeted. Mr. Cannonier said the list of candidates contains no household names, adding: "Everyone wants to say I will be convinced when I see a big name. That's not what we are after.

"We are after the average Joe Blow out there who's concerned about what's going on in Bermuda. Those big names have led to the perception of politics in this Country today."

But Mr. Fahy said it was difficult convincing some people to get into politics. "We are drawing talent from a small pool," he said. "While there's a massive amount of talent, that talent does not necessarily want to be in the public eye.

"Some people came in as members of the BDA, but when they started bidding on Government contracts they had to contact us and say they were no longer comfortable being affiliated to a party.

"They are still members of the party but don't want to be front line participants. I sympathise with that position, but this is what's wrong in Bermuda. A number of whites and blacks are fearful that a PLP Government has some way of affecting their livelihood. I don't know if that's true but, if it's a perception that people have, it's their reality. We have got to get rid of that fear of participation. I have never had a prank call at home or anything like that."