The Boundaries Commission proceedings should have been conducted in the open, said one of its members in a dissenting view.

And Shadow Legislative Affairs Minister John Barritt, who with Pamela Gordon was appointed by the United Bermuda Party to sit on the Commission added that advice and submissions given to the body by various Government Ministries and outside consultants should also have been made public.

"It is my belief that by opening up the process in this way the general public would have had a greater understanding of, and appreciation for, the work of the Commission, its challenges and its difficulties," he says in a written appendix to the report which was tabled in the House of Assembly yesterday.

"Further it is my belief that this would have stimulated broader debate within the community and led to more participation than that which the Commission chose to allow."

He also argued that the public should now be given some way of providing meaningful feedback on the positioning of the new constituency boundaries and that the Commission should have recommended an independently appointed Speaker of the House.

On the question of an independent Speaker, supported by a majority of Commissioners, he disagreed with the body's view that it was outside its terms of reference.

"If each vote is to be of equal value through its representation in the House of Assembly, no constituency should be deprived a voice in Parliament when its member is chosen to fulfil the independent role of Speaker. Accordingly, and in view of the majority view of the Commission on this issue, provision for an independent Speaker is hereby recommended for consideration."

And he suggested that all voters be reregistered once the single seat system is adopted, saying it will make it easier for the Parliamentary Registrar to place voters in their correct constituencies.

The Commission did meet with the public in a series of open meetings across the Island at the start of the year. And it asked for and received dozens of written submissions but its own deliberations were closed to the public.

"There were few, if any representations on the actual positioning of constituencies and the placement of boundary lines," Mr. Barritt said, adding that, while he was able to agree on how the new constituencies should be drawn, the general public had not had the opportunity to review the boundaries recommended before the Commission wrapped up its work.

"It appears that any changes recommended by members of the public cannot be taken into account," he continues.

"This Commission comes to an end when it submits its report to His Excellency the Governor. The next Boundaries Commission cannot be appointed until three years after the delivery of this report."

He added: "That opportunity must now be provided by some other means."

The UBP and other groups have long advocated a constitutional conference or a referendum before the far reaching electoral reforms are put into place.

"I'm not sure a constitutional conference or a referendum addresses boundaries," he told The Royal Gazette later.

"That addresses numbers but a constitutional conference would address other matters which may arise and do arise. Are we going to look at an independent speaker, should we look at the Senate - its composition, its size and how its appointed and should we look at reviewing the ceiling of the size of the Cabinet. Also what powers will future Boundaries Commissions have?"

UBP MP John Barritt, who was the only member of the Commission to write a dissenting view of the report, said public debate and discussion was now most important.

"I mean six men and women did the best they could within the terms of reference but six men and women are not going to be the ones to determine whether this is right for Bermuda and indeed whether what is recommended can be improved upon."

And he agreed that the political parties would be analysing the map to see whether there had been any major impact on their electoral fortunes.

"It would be disingenious to say the political parties didn't have some idea of what the effect might be. But I have to say a lot of this work was done with the aid of a computer program and given the geographical shape of Bermuda you are limited in your options when you're trying to make them of equal size and contiguous. So the opportunity for horse-trading was zero."

He agreed that the report will likely meet with a bipartisan endorsement, if for no other reason than practicality.

"You cannot simply change the number without changing the map. And changing the map, I can tell you, is not a simple task."