Premier Ewart Brown last night refused to comment on speculation that August 16 could be the date of the next Bermuda election.

Yesterday UBP chairman Shawn Crockwell said the UBP had confidential information that pointed to that date for an election. He said it would be during a time that many UBP supporters are away and when a media gag order would remain in place over the contents of a leaked Police dossier on the investigation into the Bermuda Housing Corporation scandal.

Mr. Crockwell said the UBP had received a confidential memo meant for Premier Dr. Ewart Brown, justifying the potential date. He suggested the timing would allow the Premier to call an election before any further information from the Police dossier on the BHC investigation — said to be over 1,000 pages long — is revealed.

After a series of court hearings last month, both the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal turned down an application from the Commissioner of Police and Attorney General to have the Island’s media organisations banned from reporting further extracts from the leaked dossier. However, the Court of Appeal gave permission for them to appeal this before the Privy Council in London — Bermuda’s highest court of appeal. The Privy Council has issued a temporary gag order on the media until the appeal is heard later this year.

Khalid Wasi, spokesman for the All Bermuda Congress (ABC), last night said: “With this gag order out there, the public don’t have all of the information they need and so it’s not a fair election. The public needs to know. Speaking in principle, if the United Bermuda Party is serious in seeking a Royal Commission (independent inquiry into the BHC affair) then this should precede any election.

“If the UBP is serious they should consider suggesting to the Government that they are not going to participate in this election. I stress this is a suggestion in principle, not something the ABC is contemplating, but obviously if the UBP boycotted the election then we would follow.”

Mr. Wasi said: “Everyone has been speculating on dates and August 16 is one possible date. It would bring the Government just inside of the date when students would be going to school.”

Mr. Wasi suggested that Bermuda could avoid this kind of speculation about motivation for calling an election by changing its electoral system to one with a fixed date for elections, rather than within a time period at the discretion of the Government. July would have been better as a summer election and it didn’t cause people to campaign over Cup Match,” he said. “Now people are saying December. This is why we give as one of our points a set date.”

Despite the party only forming in January, Mr. Wasi said the ABC would be ready for an August election. “We are currently interviewing a number of people and these are people we targeted because they will serve Bermuda best,” he said. “We will be ready if they call the election for August.”

Last night UBP leader Michael Dunkley said Mr. Wasi’s talk of boycotting an election in principle was undemocratic. “The Premier has the authority to call an election any time he wants and if anyone is against that then clearly, democracy is not going to prevail,” he said. “I’m not about to go about boycotting an election. We support the concerns everyone has about the gag order, but a boycott is not something we would support. It’s ridiculous. If the Premier has called an election we will comply, and we will be ready for it. As representatives of the voters you can’t decide you’re not going to participate — when elections are called you have to stand up and be counted.”

Mr. Dunkley added: “We will be ready for it. We intend to show that this Government has lost its way and it’s time for a change. If the Premier calls an election when the gag order is in place then the proof is in the pudding that this Government has lost its way.”