More than 60 percent of Bermudians in a poll said they were opposed to Independence for Bermuda.

Of the 403 residents polled by Research Innovations, 21.4 percent supported Independence, and 17.2 percent said they were unsure.

The numbers reinforced Government?s public information initiative, Premier Alex Scott said last night.

Speaking from memory, he said via e-mail: ?There is another very significant finding from a poll conducted by the Omnibus Group (I think that?s their corporate title) that more than 70 percent of individuals polled indicated that they wished to have (more) information on Independence.

?The conclusion we can draw is that while ?X? percent are for Independence and ?X? percent are percent are for Independence and ?X? percentage against Independence (at this time), the majority of Bermudians wish to have more information on the subject and therefore Government?s Bermuda Independence Commission and a public information initiative is the right policy at the right time on the issue of Independence.?

Men were slightly more supportive of Independence than women, and those over 55 were slightly more supportive than those under 55. Racially, 27.3 percent of blacks supported the idea compared to 14.1 percent of whites and 25 percent of mixed race.

However 47.8 percent of blacks, 76.8 percent of whites and 75 percent of mixed races opposed Independence; while 24.9 percent of blacks, 9.2 percent of whites, and the one other Asian polled said they were unsure.

The poll also asked the question of whether Independence should be decided by way of election or referendum. The results were similar: 59.5 percent said referendum, with 20.1 percent saying General Election and 20.1 percent saying they were unsure.

Racially, 22.1 percent of blacks called for a General Election and 45.1 percent called for a referendum. For whites, 16.2 percent preferred election while 75.7 percent wanted a referendum, and 44.4 percent of mixed races wanted an election while 55.6 percent preferred referendum.

The question of referendum or General Election is ?premature?, Mr. Scott said last night.

?It?s way too early to be asking a question like that and expect an informed response,? he said. ?You do get an emotive response.?

A General Election will present a far more complex view of what Government intends to do than a simple ?yes or no? question, he said. The parties would have to present a platform and spell out all the details, such as future relationships with Britain and so on. ?We could have a referendum tomorrow, but we couldn?t have an election on it.?

Asking the question of referendum or General Election now, however, is ?putting the cart before the horse?.

Mr. Scott also said more details on the BIC will be revealed soon. The Commission, expected to be in action by January, will ?in broad brush terms? be responsible for arranging a programme of public meetings and forums, as well as utilising the media to disseminate information. They will also set up a Government think tank of sorts to target the issue.

?Basically, their role is to inform the public on the subject of sovereignty vs. dependence,? the Premier said.

A roster is currently being put together of who will be on the Commission, he said. ?We want the broadest possible base, crossing demographics, age, gender, politics.?

However a happy medium will have to be found between size and efficiency, he said. ?It has to be a workable committee, it can?t be so large that it?s unwieldy.?

The poll was conducted by random telephone calling from November 13 until November 17. It has a margin of error of 4.9 percent.