And he says the PLP have been shown up as inconsistent.

On Friday night the Senate backed a proposal from Independent Sen. Alf Oughton that the referendum should be decided by a majority of those entitled to vote.

He is worried about a low turnout for the referendum and a small number of voters deciding the Island's future.

But Government says a majority of those taking part in the referendum is enough to make a decision.

Mr. Khalid Abdul Wasi, also known as Mr.

Raymond Davis, is a member of the UBP caucus and the Human Rights Commission.

He says Government's position is right, judging by the way Bermudians have turned out for votes in the past.

The turnout in the last six elections varied from about 70 percent to about 81 percent, he said yesterday. The average was about 75 percent.

"About 25 percent of people simply do not show up,'' he said.

These included people who did not vote for religious reasons, totally non-political people, prisoners and people otherwise incapable of voting.

Governments were elected by an average of 50 percent of the people who voted, he said.

Because of the people choosing not to take part, Governments were elected by an average of about 37 percent of those entitled to vote.

This was the "normal'' Bermudian way of voting, he said, and Sen. Oughton had not taken it into account.

"It's been characteristic of our nation that a considerable number of individuals have consistently not shown up to the polls.

"The democratic process is that you get a quorum from those people who make themselves present to make a decision.'' People who chose not to show up at the polls were like MPs who abstained from a vote in the House of Assembly, he said. They were taking part in their own way.

The PLP were being inconsistent in supporting Sen. Oughton, he said.

They believed a general election was the best way to decided the Independence issue.

But elections were not decided by a majority of those entitled to vote, as they were proposing the referendum should be.

Mr. Abdul Wasi, a supporter of Independence, said he favoured a referendum once Bermudians were "properly educated'' on the issue.

If there was a low turnout Government might say it wasn't bound by the result, he pointed out.

To avoid people deliberately staying away to spoil the referendum, Government could rule that a low vote in favour of Independence had to be confirmed by Parliament.