Dennis Ramsay was pressured to step down as a UBP candidate in Southampton East.

Mr. Ramsay, who retired in April after a 27-year law enforcement career, was named in early August to run for the UBP beside electrical contractor Mr.

Calvin Simmons.

But a technicality related to his retirement benefits forced him to step down, and the UBP was looking for a new candidate, party executive officer Mr. Joe Gibbons said.

Under the terms of his retirement package, Mr. Ramsay was to collect full Police pay for a time before collecting his pension.

"While you are on full pay, you are technically deemed to be active,'' Mr.

Gibbons said. "A Police officer cannot run for political office.'' Mr. Ramsay was unaware of the problem when his candidacy was announced, he said.

But PLP Southampton East MP Mr. Reginald Burrows said while Mr. Ramsay's reason appeared valid, "what I was hearing was that the constituents weren't too happy about him running as a candidate''.

Mr. Burrows said he believed the unhappiness was related to Mr. Ramsay's work on the Police force, where he headed the narcotics division.

Mr. Gibbons described the charge as "a malicious rumour.'' "I can categorically deny that there was any pressure on Dennis to step down,'' he said. "In fact, it was a big disappointment for us.'' Mr. Ramsay attended the UBP caucus meeting on Thursday, would continue to attend caucus, and had pledged to work for the candidate the UBP chose to replace him, he said.

The UBP was talking to several potential candidates, and an announcement would be made "in the next week or so.'' Mr. Gibbons said two UBP candidates had been chosen to run in the only remaining constituency of Devonshire North, a Progressive Labour Party stronghold. Their names would be announced in the next two weeks.

While the UBP plans to run a full slate of 40 candidates, the PLP has named 33 to date, and campaign co-chairman Mr. Terry Lister said he was comfortable with running fewer than 40.

"We do have some surprises left,'' he said. It was likely the PLP would only field one candidate in Pembroke West, Paget East, and Southampton West.

"Every district has a PLP candidate,'' said PLP Leader Mr. Frederick Wade.

"We have people standing by to fill other slots should we decide to do that.

It will be a question of strategy.'' Mr. Wade said he had not heard about discontent with Mr. Ramsay's candidacy.

But Mr. Burrows knew the constituency well, and "if he is saying that is the case, you can be sure that is the case''.

If the UBP's explanation was accepted, "I would have thought that a competent political party would have been able to cover all of these bases before they had made such an announcement,'' Mr. Wade said.

Meanwhile, the UBP criticised two men the PLP named on Thursday to contest Paget West and Pembroke West, as showing the party's "narrow union/labour approach.'' "It is clear that there is no intention on the part of the PLP to position their party so as to represent all persuasions of opinion,'' Premier the Hon.

Sir John Swan said. "To the contrary, it appears they have opted for a substantial complement of union representatives in their line-up of candidates.'' In Pembroke West, the PLP is running former Bermuda Industrial Union telephone division president Mr. Michael Cox. The party also named outspoken docks worker and BIU vice president Mr. Chris Furbert to contest Paget West.