next week for an October 7 general election.

The call is Sir John's, but United Bermuda Party sources said they expected a Thursday election after a three-week campaign, making October 14 the next most likely date for Bermudians to go to the polls.

"My gut feeling is that it's going to be sooner, rather than later,'' one party source told The Royal Gazette yesterday.

"My personal feeling is that it should be fairly soon,'' said another.

"We're ready, and we're waiting for the party leader to make his decision.'' The UBP's "Blueprint for Bermuda'' -- a key part of the party's election platform -- was ready to be printed yesterday morning. With a full slate of 40 candidates named and an extensive advertising campaign in full swing, that document was seen as the last piece to put in place before launching a campaign.

The Premier could issue the writ on Thursday.

Based on the widely-held assumption that an election will be called before the House of Assembly reconvenes on November 5, the last chance for a Thursday election is seen as October 21.

An October 28 vote is ruled out because "it will take you a week to have polished up a Throne Speech,'' one source said.

Recent general elections in Bermuda have been held on either Tuesday or Thursday, but sources said a Thursday vote was likelier for two main reasons.

The nature of the Bermudian media -- with no Sunday newspaper and highest readership through the week -- meant a Tuesday polling day did not lend itself to the kind of media build-up modern political parties favour.

A Thursday election also allowed one day to clean up, then a weekend for candidates and supporters to rest before returning to work.

Sources said many factors came into play, but Sir John's international agenda regarding the US bases could be a key one in determining whether the election writ was issued next week for October 7, or the following week for October 14.

The Premier was due to return today from meetings with North Atlantic Treaty Organisation leaders in Belgium, but there was talk of another trip to Washington to lobby American leaders. (See story above.) Sir John, who has already met with US President Mr. Bill Clinton once this year, would prefer to hold that meeting before a campaign began. But scheduling difficulties could prompt him to drop the writ first and visit Washington later, a source said.

According to one source, "the momentum is there,'' and "there's little more we can do'' to prepare for a campaign.

Also, "the electorate is ready for an election,'' and there is a widespread feeling of "let's get it over with.''