Dwayne Robinson, MP for Constituency 30 Southampton East Central, issued the following statement.
“While we are disappointed that the Absentee Voting Bill will be removed from the order paper for good, the One Bermuda Alliance is proud to have put this important issue on the public agenda,” says Opposition MP Dwayne Robinson.
“The Government was given an opportunity to collaborate on the OBA’s bill, but instead chose political mischief. We left the Bill on the order paper for two months in an effort to collaborate and there was time for amendments to be put forward, yet nothing was presented.
“Instead, we now learn that the Bill cannot be progressed because in order to action it, monies will have to be spent by the Parliamentary Registrar. Despite it being on the order paper uncontested for two months, as soon as we choose to go for a second reading, this letter appears.”
He continues: “We have no wish to question the independent office of the PR, however its budget is provided by the sitting Government.
“As the reason is budgetary this reflects on the Minister of the Cabinet office and the Premier who is the Minister of Finance. Minister Rabain allocated $55,000 via supplementary spending to electoral reform during the last session, making the point quite redundant.”
He concludes: “If the Government was serious about electoral reform, it would have funded it after the February 2025 election.”
