The Voters Rights Association has written to all candidates in the upcoming General Election urging them to back a Voter’s Bill of Rights.

The group said that good governance must be a “priority” as the island approaches July 18 and has asked all parliamentary hopefuls to specifically withdraw their support if they do not want to see a Voters’ Bill of Rights.

The VRA, which was established in 2007, has campaigned for several measures to improve Parliamentary accountability in Bermuda including the right for all election candidates in a constituency to take part in open debate and the right to a fair absentee ballot voting system.

“By identifying where your commitment lies in seeing Bermuda’s parliamentary process and governance become more transparent, fair and reasonable, you promote and enhance the ability of the voters to participate more actively in the governing of Bermuda,” the letter states.

“This can only be a good thing because our whole community needs to be fully engaged in many of the important choices that lie ahead.

“Party politics has gone astray and this sentiment is being voiced consistently in the community; and the VRA feels that supporting the principles of a Voters’ Bill of Rights is a great opportunity for both political parties and individual candidates to stand for a respectful and participatory process that will move to deepen engagement in our democracy.

“Both political parties profess their desire to make Bermuda better and the Voters’ Bill of Rights is an important and fundamental course of action to fulfil and honour that goal.”

The VRA wants to see a raft of rights enshrined in the Voters’ Bill of Rights including the right to vote, the right to fixed-term elections; the right of constituents to recall parliamentarians they have elected and the right to voter referendums and citizen initiatives to determine public issues.

A spokesperson for the VRA added that the Ombudsman and Auditor-General should be given the power to subpoena people, while the Human Rights Commission should be made a completely independent commission established under the Bermuda Constitution.

“The Attorney-General should also not be affiliated to any political party and the post should be shielded against influence from the government of the day,” the spokesperson said.

“To have the Attorney-General sitting in the Cabinet is not acceptable.

“In a small community the legal system must be free from political influence.

“A lot of the things we believe are necessary already exist in other jurisdictions.

“The UK has fixed-term elections and if a petition in the UK reaches 100,000 signatures it will be considered for debate in parliament.

“Bermuda is a relatively young democracy and these measures can help it mature to be more responsive and accountable to the electorate.

“We will be very interested to see which of the parliamentary candidates proactively opt out of supporting the measures we are proposing.”