passed. No-one would ever have thought that Bermuda would have a hurricane and a referendum together. It is important to us all to ride out Felix but it is also important to remember that the major thing on Bermuda's agenda is the referendum. As difficult as it may be, we should not allow the hurricane to divert us from the crucial business of the referendum.

The referendum will not go away and whatever the result, the people will have spoken. That is the essence of a democracy, the will of the people. A referendum is the purest form of democracy and the best indication of the people's will, one person, one vote on a single issue.

When this debate on Independence started out, far too long ago, it was supposed to inform the people of the pros and cons and then let the people have their say on an important issue. The pros and cons were to be laid on the table for the people to make an informed decision.

That was the way it should have been. Instead, some politicians made themselves the issue and said, "Do it my way or else.'' But politicians were not supposed to be a large factor in the decision on Independence. They forgot that they had been elected to represent the people and they forgot that this was a referendum in which Bermudians were to vote their conscience and not politics as usual. And so a referendum based on informed and open choice turned into a debilitating battle with politicians determined to have their way no matter what the cost to Bermuda and no matter what the will of the people.

Never can any issue in Bermuda have made for such strange bedfellows. It is fair to say that this issue has led to some totally unbelievable statements and some promises which are lies because there is no intent to fulfill them.

When we vote we must put aside the lies, the half truths and the threats, and we must ignore most of what we have heard from politicians. If this debate tells Bermudians anything, it tells them that politicians will go to almost any lengths to have their own way. If hurricane Felix teaches us anything it is just how vulnerable tiny Bermuda is to all sorts of forces here in mid-Atlantic.

However, this is a referendum on Independence only. We go to the polls not to elect or defeat a government or to approve or disapprove of leadership, but to decide if Bermuda should go independent at this time.

There are people on both sides who did not want this debate or a referendum.

Like it or not, we have had the debate and we are having a referendum under difficult circumstances on the future of Bermuda. It is the duty of every voter to take part and to have their say no matter how trying it is to do so.

If we do not decide this issue clearly we will disrupt Bermuda for months and months to come. We should each vote our conscience. We should decide what we want for ourselves and for Bermuda. We should not try to decide what is best for the political parties. This is not a general election.

Neither should we vote for what was best for Bermuda in the past. We should vote our conscience and for what is best for today's Bermuda and what we think is best for our future.