Mr Speaker, you will recall that earlier this year, this Honurable House approved a raft of changes to the Parliamentary Election Act 1978. The most significant changes were enacted to:

Increase the number of persons who are eligible to vote in our Country
Increase the categories of persons who could vote in an advance poll
Enable people who are shut-in at home to vote
Enable visually impaired persons to vote using tactile devices
Give the Parliamentary Registrar more flexibility at polling stations in order to ensure safety

Mr Speaker, I am pleased to inform this Honourable House that, despite the threat and health risks posed by COVID-19, the Parliamentary Registrar, Ms Tenia Woolridge, and her entire team delivered a safe, seamless and secure electoral process for the electorate. Elections, both the Advanced Polls and the General Poll, were very successfully conducted and enormous credit for this has to be given to the Parliamentary Registrar’s Office.

Mr Speaker, this Honourable House, and all of Bermuda, would be interested in the statistics emanating from the General Election of 2020. To that end, I am pleased to share the following data:

A total of one hundred and eighty-three (183) votes were taken at Senior Citizen Rest Homes
Fifteen (15) votes were taken at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital
Ten (10) visually impaired voters used the newly implemented tactile devices to assist them in the voting process

Mr Speaker, a total of twenty-five thousand seven hundred and sixty (25,760) persons voted in the General Election of 2020. Of these, a total of four thousand four hundred and eleven (4,411) persons voted in the advanced polls. Put another way, 17% of those who voted did so in the Advanced Polls. The number of voters in the advanced polls for each constituency are detailed as follows:

Constituency 1                     80

Constituency 2                     112

Constituency 3                     83

Constituency 4                     161

Constituency 5                     200

Constituency 6                     209

Constituency 7                     169

Constituency 8                     143

Constituency 9                     127

Constituency 10                   190

Constituency 11                   164

Constituency 12                   135

Constituency 13                   145

Constituency 14                   148

Constituency 15                   126

Constituency 18                   105

Constituency 19                   125

Constituency 20                   121

Constituency 21                   83

Constituency 22                   94

Constituency 23                   120

Constituency 24                   103

Constituency 25                   176

Constituency 27                   164

Constituency 28                   153

Constituency 29                   145

Constituency 30                   160

Constituency 31                   150

Constituency 32                   148

Constituency 33                   90

Constituency 34                   108

Constituency 35                   108

Constituency 36                   66

Mr Speaker, additional detailed data for the General Election 2020, as well as for previous elections, can be found on the website elections.gov.bm.

Mr Speaker, general elections require an enormous amount of planning, preparation and execution. They also require a small army of workers to ensure a smooth and secure voting process, not only on the actual polling day but also, for advance polls, voting at rest homes and voting at private residences.

Mr Speaker, there were approximately five hundred and forty (540) workers involved in the General Election of 2020. These are broken down as follows:

Seventy (70) Returning Officers
Two hundred and two (202) Presiding Officers
One hundred and forty (140) Police Officers – who provided security at polling stations and escorts for ballot boxes
Forty (40) Works and Engineering staff – for setup and breakdown of polling stations
Seventy eight (78) Private Security Firm staff – to deliver and collect ballots and supplies from polling stations; assisting with administering hand sanitizer at polling stations
Ten (10) Red Cross volunteers

Mr Speaker, to all of these folks I want to express my sincere thanks for their contribution and efforts in ensuring a well-run and safe election.

Mr Speaker, the cost of the General Election 2020 was six hundred and ninety two thousand, six hundred and ninety eight dollars ($692,698). This compares to the seven hundred fifty nine thousand, five hundred and eleven dollars ($759,511) spent on the General Election of 2017.

Mr. Speaker, you would recall that the former Leader of the OBA, The Hon. Craig Cannonier said that, quote “it is an insult that the Premier would contrive to underestimate our collective intelligence by trying to convince us that he is calling a million dollar election to save the country money.” The Hon Member Cannonier also said as COVID cases reach double figures again, the Premier was asking us to jeopardize our health.

Mr. Speaker, let me inform this Honorable House that not only did the Government through the Parliamentary Registrar’s Office keep its citizens safe by taking meticulous precautionary measures during the election, it did not spend a million dollars in doing so.

Mr Speaker, the Government spent approximately sixty thousand dollars ($60,000) less than the One Bermuda Alliance did when they held the election in 2017. Mr. Speaker, it was because of our good stewardship and leadership that the Government achieved a whopping majority of 30 to 6, a massive 20% increase and the largest margin of victory in our political history.

Mr Speaker, I have already mentioned the amount of work involved in this election and I have also stated that it was extremely organized and effectively run. I therefore, wish to add my commendation and congratulations to Ms Tenia Woolridge and the entire team at the Parliamentary Registrar’s Office for the sterling work they did in this election. The delivery of a well-organised and incident-free election is a testament to the exceptional job that they all do at the Parliamentary Registrar’s Office, and I am grateful for their outstanding service to our Country.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker