Premier confirms 19 seats and OMOV for 2017
Premier Alden McLaughlin at the Chamber of Commerce Legislative Luncheon
(CNS): The PPM administration will be introducing ‘one man, one vote’ in 19 single member constituencies in time for the 2017 General Election, Premier Alden McLaughlin confirmed during his address to a Chamber of Commerce audience Wednesday, announcing that government had accepted the Electoral Boundary Commission’s Report.
“I will shortly move the necessary motion in the Legislative Assembly to adopt the Electoral Boundary Commission’s Report in full and to introduce one person one vote and single member electoral districts in time for the next election,” he said at the Chamber’s Legislative Lunch.
Although the opposition is still campaigning against the introduction and UDP Leader McKeeva Bush has raised concerns about the new boundaries drawn in West Bay, the PPM has the numbers on its own side and the support of the two independent members.
The government motion to adopt the new system will not only see the final draft of the report released into the public domain, it will pave the way for amendments to the election law and then the start of the education and public awareness campaign about the new constituencies and voting system.
Although there were concerns about the additional seat because of the cost of another legislator, the return to an odd number in parliament and the need for an additional seat in George Town has overridden those concerns.
What’s so funny 🙂 … It appears by dividing the island into 19 MLAs, we become more a DEMOCRATIC nation. Yeah right?! At the end of the day, we have no say if the Queen, Governor, or some FCO UK official can override the Laws of our parliament. That’s no true democracy! Hence all this slice and dicing means nothing to me.
I LAUGH OUT LOUD! Dis ya wat prophet Bob Marley sung long ago – dis here is like a “pimpers paradise … [with] every need got an ego to feed…”
if you do not like the way things operate here, and look to Bob Marley for the answers, you can always go back a yard and enjoy the freedom of living in increasing chaos and squalor, when not lining up to beg a visa to go foreign. I thank God for the FCO.
Congratulations to the Premier, Hon. Alden McLaughlin and to the Progressives for moving head with another important manifesto promise.
1. OMOV has been under serious consideration since 2003.
2. A majority of those who voted in the 2012 referendum voted yes.
3. The Progressives said they would implement OMOV if elected in 2013.
4. Finally, comparisons of number of Representatives overlook that most other jurisdictions have multiple levels of government: borough, city, county, state/provincial, national/federal. Add all those together for an apples to apples comparison.
So now a voter has even less options to choose from.
Island wide elections with candidates representing the country instead of a part of a district, is what is needed.
Gerry mandering, vote buying, uneven representation… The list goes on. This is the worst move ever and a major step backwards for true democracy.
And why should they sit?? Make the b’stards stand!
2 for GT, WB and BT. 1 for all the rest.
That would be a total of 9.
We don’t need any more pigs in the trough.
Their salaries should also be drastically cut and more performance related. I.e, did they show up to the debate, did they speak to their constituencies before the vote?
Stop making all these stupid laws that make it impossible to do business here in Cayman and for God’s sake, trim the size of the government. It is unsustainable.
OK. Now please announce that to finance the additional seat ALL MLA salaries will be reduced by 10K per year. That money ($180K) should easily cover the costs of the additional seat with some left over. All MLA’s should be in favour as they will then have a single area with less constituents so the salary should be less.
Fat chance on that! Their faces are so deep in the trough they can’t hear you.
Speaking of snouts in the trough, you have to admit it is a good way of getting rid of the West bay power grip that has shamed our country.
The shame is not exclusive to West Bay. There are equally terrible examples from other districts, including that farthest island to the east.
How many useless people are sitting now??? and we are going to have 19 next time..this is just a bunch of BS, we don’t need anymore sitting, if anything we need less
I know it won’t happen but how about we reduce the number to 12. 1 for the speaker and then 11 sitting. That would be roughly 1 member for every 2,500 people. Someone is going to say my math is wrong but there are only 30,000 Caymanians. 19 is just too many and ridiculous compared to most other places.
Agreed with 1:14
Jeez, that’s more than the Premier of Ontario, with a pop. of 14 mil.
Ah yes, but they don’t have the quality of politicians in Ontario that we have here…
Correct. They have drug addict majors.
Suspect if you compare the amount of time spent in parliament the price per hour worked is even worse. Mind you in Ontario you don’t have to hand out half of your MLA salary in “constituent social support” either.