The United Bermuda Party (UBP) candidate for Devonshire South Central nearly became Opposition Leader two years ago when he contested the post and lost to Grant Gibbons by only a narrow margin.

John Barritt, the party's legislative affairs spokesman, is a partner at the law firm Appleby Spurling and Kempe and has represented Devonshire South, under the old constituency system, since 1993 when he was elected with running mate Dr. David Saul, who became Premier two years later.

He served as Government Whip and then Minister for Technology and Information, where he had the task of introducing competition to the telecommunications industry, before becoming Minister for Legislative Affairs, Youth and Sport prior to the PLP victory in 1998.

"I guess I got involved in politics because I didn't know any better," he joked.

"I've always been interested in politics, even when I was a reporter. And I always thought that I could do as good a job as the next person.

"Plus my father was an MP and served as Speaker of the House."

Born in Bermuda and raised in Devonshire Bay, where he still lives, Mr. Barritt went to school at Saltus Grammar School, Albert College in Ontario.

He did an undergraduate degree at Trent University and then studied journalism at Carlton University in Canada for one year.

He returned to the Island and worked as a reporter for The Royal Gazette, the Bermuda Sun and the Mid-Ocean News until he was 35, when he went to study law in Calgary, Alberta.

He was called to the Bermuda Bar in 1986 and immediately joined his current firm, where he worked in the litigation, civil and criminal and property law departments before becoming a member of the Trusts and Financial Structure Department, which is the post he holds now.

He is married to Sharon and has two children, Rachael, 28, and Justin, 23.

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Progressive Labour Party (PLP) veteran Aurelia Burch has been campaigning and rallying since the formation of Bermuda's first political party.

One of the PLP's founding members in 1963, she said she was drawn to the party that year because "there were so many injustices particularly relating to black folk then. I agreed that that was one of ways we might be able to attack such things".

A former chairwoman of the Human Rights Commission, Mrs. Burch has also had extensive experience on the campaign trail as she has run in such seats in Warwick East and Paget East.

"I'm not a young person. I've been around since Bermuda really needed changes, and I mean needed with a capital 'N'," the retired headmistress told The Royal Gazette.

She said she was happy with the way the PLP government had performed over the last four and half years: "I feel confident that the PLP will win second term and that we will really win it, not this general talk of us being due something. I think that we've earned it."

Born and raised in the Middletown area of Hamilton, she was educated at Central School (which is now Victor Scott school) and then at the Berkeley Institute. From there she went to Jamaica where she enrolled at the Shortwood Teacher Training College.

On returning to Bermuda, she became a primary school teacher at Central School, then taught English and religious education at Prospect Secondary School and then became headmistress of Harrington Sound Primary School.

She is a member of the lay association at St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church and served as the Sunday school superintendent there.