The City of Hamilton faces its first election under the new rule of universal adult franchise next week.

Nominations for the post of Alderman can be made on March 13.

The post was held by Deputy Mayor Glen Smith, who announced last month that he was stepping down in order to run as a candidate for the One Bermuda Alliance.

Following Mr Smith’s resignation, the City had two months to set an Extraordinary Municipal Election so-called because it had to be called outside the regular schedule.

The election of a new Alderman will fall a year after reforms did away with the last vestige of the property-based voting in Bermuda’s municipalities. Reforms opened the municipal elections strictly to residents of both Hamilton and St George’s. A bill restricting the vote to residents alone was approved in the House of Assembly in March 2011.

Under the previous order, business owners wielded more than one vote if they held multiple properties.

An overhaul of the 1923 Municipalities Act formally abolished the property vote in 2010, opening up the Cities to universal franchise. It had previously been linked to property ownership and taxation, leaving many disenfranchised.

Nomination forms will be provided by the Office of the Parliamentary Register, and nominations can be filed at Hamilton City Hall from 11am to 1pm on March 13.

Advanced polls are to be held on March 22, with polling day on March 29.

Useful website: www.cityhall.bm.