Some members of the large field of Independent candidates running in this general election have promoted the idea that voters should support Independents in general, presumably as a protest against the party system. It does not make much sense otherwise, since the Independents represent a wide range of views. That’s why they are Independents, after all.Some are serious candidates like former United Bermuda Party leader Kim Swan and former Progressive Labour Party Attorney General Philip Perinchief. Others are closer to the famous Monster Raving Loony Party.All, to some degree, represent a distaste for the divisiveness of party politics as it is presently constituted, and this may generate some support around the Island. It can be argued that the divisive nature of first past the post politics is unhealthy. As was argued by Mr Perinchief, the claim by the PLP of having achieved one man one vote of equal value is nonsense too. When one party wins 61 percent of the seats with 53 percent of the vote, and the other wins 47 percent of the vote and gets 39 percent of the seats, votes are not of equal value even if it is fairer than the old two-seat system it replaced in 2003.In addition, the winner take all nature of first past the post not only creates an unnecessarily adversarial climate when a co-operative, consensus-based approach would b be more constructive, it’s also a waste of talent.The problem then, is not whether the current system is best for Bermuda, but what to replace it with, and in the current election, if there is any value in voting for Independents.This newspaper remains an advocate of reform of the Westminster system. It supports fixed term elections and supported proportional representation in the run-up to the 2003 reforms as the fairest system. It would also be worth looking at Mixed Member Proportional Representation, in which voters elect a constituency MP and vote for a party list. This is used in New Zealand and a variant was tried in the recent Turks and Caicos elections, although it was imperfect there; the party that won the majority of votes won less seats than the minority party.All of these ideas should be examined in the next parliament. Reform is needed, and former One Bermuda Alliance leader John Barritt is perhaps the leading thinker on this.The question of whether there is any value in voting for an Independent in this election is a different one, and a difficult one.The last election when there was as large a field of Independents and third party candidates as this was in 1989, when National Liberal Party MP Gilbert Darrell held onto his seat and Independent MP Stuart Hayward was elected, the first and last Independent since party politics began in earnest in 1968.Both lost in 1993, and the reason seemed to be that when the Government is at stake, voters are unwilling to throw their votes away on non-major party candidates.If anything, the stakes are higher now, and the need for a government to have a majority at a time when tough decisions have to be made has never been greater, regardless of which party wins.Mr Hayward and Mr Darrell had some small successes in Parliament, but the reality was that they were too easily pushed to the sidelines to have a real effect.To have real influence, an Independent would have to hold the balance of power, but this too creates challenges. Any government would have to operate at the whim of one MP, and this would create instability at a time when the opposite is needed.So, regrettably, this is not the time for Independents. A vote for an Independent could prevent the best candidate from winning, and will not help the Island at a time when it will need firm government.