Former independent MP Stuart Hayward will be making an announcement on his political plans today.

Mr. Hayward served one term as an independent MP from 1989 until 1993 largely running on his record as an environmental activist. He topped the 1989 poll in the old dual seat constituency of Pembroke West Central with 676 votes. In 1993, he came at the bottom of the poll with just 300 votes. The United Bermuda Party's Ann Cartwright-DeCouto and Jerome Dill, who captured 700 votes each, and the Progressive Labour Party's Neletha Butterfield and Philip Perinchief who gained 559 and 542 votes respectively.

Mr. Hayward has been considering whether to run as a candidate in the country's first single seat election. If Mr. Hayward, 61, does run, he will probably stand in the new Pembroke West Central where he lives. The reformed electoral system is believed to give independent candidates a better shot at entering the House of Assembly. Some sources report a burgeoning, but hesitant, movement of independent candidates for the historic poll. Former PLP spokesman Corey Butterfield is also mulling running.