A ten-point plan to improve voters' rights was unveiled at a poorly attended public meeting this week.

Only 14 people turned up for the Voters' Rights Association (VRA) gathering at the Wesley Methodist Church Hall in Hamilton.

One woman described the turnout as "pathetic".

"I can't believe this is a meeting before a possible next election," she said. "It's disastrous."

VRA co-chairman Stuart Hayward agreed that attendance was poor but said the important thing was to focus on getting the bill of rights adopted.

The proposed bill calls for:

• The right to vote;

• The right to fixed-term elections;

• Election candidates to be from the constituency they stand in or an adjoining constituency;

• The right for all election candidates in a constituency to participate in open debate;

• The right for constituents to recall parliamentarians they have elected;

• A fair absentee ballot voting system;

• The right to confirm electronically tabulated votes through verifiable paper records;

• Independent court-appointed observers and auditors to monitor the parliamentary election and polling process;

• Voter referendums or similar to determine public issues; and

• Proportional representation on Government boards, parish councils, committees and quangos.

Mr. Hayward said that if a Bermudian happened to be off Island on December 18 — the date of the forthcoming General Election — they would not have the right to vote. The same would apply, he said, if they were in a jail or mental institution.

"As far as the right to vote, it's not entirely universal," he said. "This is where we come in. What we'd like to see is a further expansion of the franchise."

He talked at Tuesday night's meeting of electoral procedures in other countries, such as Estonia, where voters get a card containing an electronic chip allowing them to vote wherever they are in the world. "This is really democracy in action," he said.

Mr. Hayward said there were three possible ways of getting the bill of rights adopted: persuading an MP to table a private member's bill in the House of Assembly, persuading the Government to move it forward or approaching the UK Government.

"We have looked at having a meeting with the local Deputy Governor to make him aware and see what his suggestions might be to move it forward," he said.

VRA is also likely to contribute to the UK's current review of its overseas territories. To find out more about the association visit www.votersrightsbda.com.