Mr. Lister received 1,304 votes, beating his uncle Walter Lister -- who has represented the area since 1976 -- by 19 votes.

"The people have spoken and I respect their decision,'' Walter Lister told The Royal Gazette shortly after the final count was announced. "The late Freddie Wade would be most excited if he were here right now. He and other PLP leaders who have passed on made it possible. I am very excited and very happy.'' Rita Grant, a first-time United Bermuda Party candidate, said: "It has been an enjoyable experience and very exciting. I am pleased with the votes I got.'' Earlier in the day UBP pair Mrs. Grant and A.E. (Ted) Gauntlett were in fine spirits, predicting an upset in the PLP stronghold.

"There has been a fierce turnout,'' Mrs. Grant said soon after the polls opened at St. James Church. "There have been traffic jams. I have seen a lot of people for both sides. I think the whole process is good for the whole country.'' And Walter Lister said: "Things are going briskly at this stage. Our supporters are out in big numbers. This is a district we worked very hard in.

"We have the people's support as we have done over the years. I have served in this area for 23 years. In my experience things have been going great. I have never had the opportunity to experience such goodwill before. I hope this means good luck for the Progressive Labour Party.'' He was also confident he had the "white'' vote. "The number of white voters I visited openly expressed their desire to vote for me in the election -- it has been very interesting,'' he said. "I respect their support.'' Mrs. Grant said there was more fire and passion in this election. After the final results were in, Mr. Gauntlett remained cheerful, declaring he wasn't a "quitter''.

"What I am getting from the voters is they want a change,'' said Terry Lister early in the day, but Mr. Gauntlett jokingly piped up: "Yeah, they want a change from the PLP to the UBP.'' One elderly voter gave an emphatic "no'' when asked if her choice for this election had been difficult to make.

In 1993, Walter Lister received 1,144 (36.2 percent), Walter Roberts (PLP) 1,109 (35 percent), Mr. Gauntlett 447 (14.1 percent) and Ralph Richardson 466 (14.7 percent).

This year the results were almost identical.

RESULTS Terry Lister (PLP) 1,304 Walter Lister (PLP) 1,285 Rita Grant (UBP) 439 Ted Gauntlett (UBP) 428 Rejected ballots 5