A feeling of disenfranchisement has been noted among East End residents, the Mayor of St George said after legislation was passed by MPs to end elections for municipalities.

Quinell Francis cited the passion of St Georgians and how they will keenly watch to see who is appointed to represent their interests in the Olde Towne.

She remained hopeful that further attention would be given to a possibility mooted in the House of Assembly that a separate Act could be developed for the East End corporation.

The Municipalities Reform Act 2026, which also applies to the Corporation of Hamilton, allows the minister responsible to appoint a mayor and four councillors at his or her discretion, as well as another four councillors on the recommendation of a selection committee.

Ms Francis said on Monday: “I know that the people in St George’s … have expressed concern about how the people will be representing them going forward.

“They don’t know if they can trust just anybody who’s selected to be their representatives down here.”

She added yesterday: “The question is, who is the selection committee going to be?

“I understand that the minister said it will be made up of business people and people with interest in St George’s, but that’s not written in the legislation.”

Ms Francis said on Monday: “I think that we as St Georgians are very passionate about our space and so it would be very interesting to see how they form a committee and how they represent St George’s.

“Are they going to use persons from St George’s, persons with interest in St George’s? Are they just going to be business people?

“We don’t know and we don’t have the answers to that. These are the types of questions that are floating around.”

Renée Ming, a Progressive Labour Party MP, served as a councillor and alderwoman in St George before being elected to the Lower House for St George’s North in 2017.

She told MPs on Friday: “We’re living in a space and time right now where, as a people, we want to make more decisions, especially as it relates to our lives and what we do, and that seems to be changing.”

Lovitta Foggo, the MP for St David’s, said then that she was “strongly opposed” to centralised government.

She told the House it was her belief that the actions of parliamentarians and politicians should enhance and promote democracy.

David Burt, the Premier, said on Friday that he understood St George’s MPs might want “their own separate Act” for the smaller municipality and that the option could be explored.

Ms Francis described the possibility as “a hope of ours” and that it would create a pathway for focused care of the Town of St George, particularly in relation to its status as a Unesco World Heritage Site.

The mayor said given the significance of the town, she hoped a review of the legislation would offer the Corporation of St George more control over the site.

She added: “I think that, overall, even if the legislation is changed, it’s still a matter of how people represent the actual Town of St George and people in the Town of St George are feeling a bit disenfranchised.

“They feel they don’t have a right or a say any more in who they would like to see representing them.”

Major overhauls to municipalities were first proposed by the PLP in 2008 and have faced a winding road since.

The reform was put forward again in 2019 but failed to pass the Senate and resulted in a civil case launched by the Corporation of Hamilton — eventually dismissed by the Privy Council last year.

Zane DeSilva, the Deputy Premier and Minister of Housing and Municipalities, tabled the 2026 legislation in February.

The Act was approved on Friday in a vote of 19-to-11, with all 11 One Bermuda Alliance MPs opposed.

Ms Ming and Ms Foggo aired their objections but were absent for the vote, as were PLP MPs Jamahl Simmons, Christopher Famous and Curtis Dickinson.