Bermuda: National elections July 18

Event

On Tuesday, July 18, polls for the legislative election will be open from 08:00 until 20:00 (local time). A local opinion poll showed that half of the respondents plan to vote for the incumbent political party One Bermuda Alliance (OBA), 39 percent support the opposition Progressive Labour Party (PLP), two percent support one of the five independent candidates, six percent are undecided, and three percent declined to state their preference.

Premier Michael Dunkely of the OBA has the highest approval rating of all party leaders at 44 percent, with PLP leader David Burt's rating at 29 percent.

Context

The PLP has campaigned with education at the forefront of the party platform. The party stated that they would address safety and health issues at all school facilities within the first 100 days of a PLP administration, provide more scholarship funding, and initiate a low-interest rate program for students to increase access to higher education.

Bermuda is a British Overseas Territory with the premier acting as the head of government. The OBA has been in power since winning the December 2012 national elections.

Advice

While political violence related to the election is not expected, individuals should avoid all gatherings and protests out of precaution. ​