Conflicts emerge as horsetrading begins
(CNS): More than 18,500 Caymanian voters have had their say, but once again, the electorate won’t be deciding the next government. As the dust settles on election night, the results, while not entirely surprising, have failed to deliver a clear majority for any party. CNS understand that the 19 candidates were all in closed-door talks on Thursday morning, as the politicians — and not the people — began the horsetrading to form a government.
On paper, the PPM looks the most likely to pull it off, but internal conflicts are already emerging, according to CNS sources.
The Progressives won the most seats, with seven of their red team members winning what were, in some cases, unexpectedly tough races. They have also secured the support of Chris Saunders, and there are expectations that Jay Ebanks and Isaac Rankine are likely to join the PPM camp with him.
However, differences in policy and personality between Roy McTaggart, who was a handful of votes away from losing his seat, and Saunders are already undermining the possible clean negotiations the PPM was hoping for. The Progressives are also in a sticky situation when it comes to inducements.
McTaggart, PPM Leader Joey Hew and the three former UPM MPs have already bagged ministries, and Saunders has almost certainly demanded a ministry in exchange for his early commitment to supporting the party he has said is the only one that “has a social conscience”.
The Cabinet includes the premier and seven other ministers, one of whom is the deputy premier. This means they would have to offer both the ministries left to Ebanks and Rankine, or possibly Rolston Anglin, another potential kingmaker, to get the seats they need for a majority, resulting in a very similar line-up to the UPM Cabinet.
CNS has also learned that the four CINP and four TCCP candidates are already talking about forming a government by merging and wooing two of the independents, given they have potentially more political ‘gifts to give’.
Neither of those parties made promises to anyone about the shape of their potential coalition Cabinet prior to the election. And while the CINP and TCCP appear aligned on most policies, they could clash enormously with Jay Ebanks when it comes to conservation and greening Cayman’s economy.
The very public policy clash between Ebanks and Panton, with the two ministers effectively fighting each other in court over terrible planning decisions during the PACT administration, raises questions of how Ebanks would fit into a TCCP/CINP coalition cabinet.
Speaking after the result last night, Kenneth Bryan, who easily retained his seat in GTC for the Progressives this time around, said it was essential that the talks were conducted as quickly and as smoothly as possible. He said the country should not have to suffer the same kind of uncertainty it did in 2021.
However, while all of the newly elected candidates may wish for speedy negotiations to form a new government, the reality is that there are 19 candidates elected to office who are still not completely aligned on policies, even within their own groups. Consequently, coming together with others based on what they can offer rather than policy alignment may not bode well for the next administration.
The voters have delivered a mixed bag of representatives that will be difficult to tie up neatly, and we may be looking at yet another administration marred by infighting, regardless of who secures the ten candidates needed to form a government.
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Category: 2025 General Elections, Elections, Politics
Will the candates that got less than 10 % of votes really lose their 1,000.? they should to discourage them from running and splitting votes
Well, WBW did what needed to be done…BTE/BTW What a mess! WTF
Unfortunately, with the high Jamaican Caymanian population base there, I think Chris and John John will be there for years like McKeeva was in West Bay. Garrison politics at its best, bring in one dance hall artist and give them a few dollars and guaranteed a vote..
@7.51 A very bigoted point of view. Shame on you.
Pointing out facts doesn’t make anyone a bigot.
Well done Cayman.
Another wasted 4 years of ineptitude and grift.
How do you vote in the wife of the person responsible for the biggest waste of money spent disrupting Georgetown and calling it revitalisation! Caymanians are DAF! Do not put him in charge of port upgrades- we need new brains.
Maybe just brains at the very least?
I’m not fan of Pearlina, but it’s rather silly to ascribe to a spouse the professional follies of their partner.
She’s bad enough on her own (de)merits.
Elevate the discourse.
Such voters lack analytical skills.
I wonder if Panton or Ruddy will give interest free loans to the independents to get them to join?
Prescient supposition that came true.
Who could have known?
LOL
Andre can close this by offering Dan the speakers role
That will be a disaster!!
Because he couldn’t even win a seat with all his money? LOL
it’ll be interesting to see how Sabrina pays her mortgage back to Wayne now that she doesn’t have a job lol
corruption is always invisible but right before your eyes in cayman
I don’t really care the final composition as long as the panton group that fell apart in minutes and accomplished nothing doesn’t get control!
To 4:21pm: You were saying? We sent PPM back to opposition. 🤣🤣🤣
Guess what Cayman. You’re gonna get the same bunch of nonsense again, just jiggled up a bit. Brace for the BS!
As a friend of mine aptly puts it “ Clowns with Crowns”.
Such disappointment for so many who hoped that the majority of cayman understood the changes urgently needed , that we needed educated people with love of country first not self interest destructive deals that enhance their own bank accounts, even though the salary they receive alone is far too large already and needs to be 50% less . That the same lot could and should not be voted in again. I really feel for the youth of these islands, they did a great job on social media protecting the environment and getting the no vote for cruise ship pier infrastructure, well done all of you. I worry for the future of cayman in the hands of self interest groups, in years to come we will say “we should have done better for our children and grandchildren”. It will be too late.
Please not PPM again – any party with Bryan and JOC should be nowhere near the levers of power.
Oink! Oink! They are what they are…
“For love of country?” No; they will sell their mother or first-born for a couple hundred thousand. Proverbs 26:1: “As snow in summer and rain in harvest, so is honor not fitting in a fool.”
Dart & the other big dollar developers must be very happy now as it will be business as usual for them. Heard the CPA chairman was having a big happy get together, build baby build.
the cpa power trip continues until God shows his ahh
Building boom will be starting now that Jay is in control – i hope they give him Finance ministry too so we can really get those 10 story building going.
In relation to the PPM don’t forget they also have the Speakership to assign in addition to Cabinet positions – its arguably the most lucrative office in Parliament a job that most of the time involves next to no work, with an insane remuneration package. It was the lynchpin in their 2017-2021 arrangement with Mckeeva. I doubt Saunders, Jay or Isaac want the role – but they could easily give it to someone like McTaggart or Julianna and free up another Ministerial slot to lure them over.
At the moment I would expect if they get the numbers they are going to hand that to Julianna for what will likely actually be her last term. Nothing Her Holiness loves more than being paid an exorbitant amount of money for doing nothing and she is already very familiar with the role – for her hardest part about being Speaker is keeping herself from falling asleep on the dais.
Or dressing appropriately. Did she ever get a stylist?
Yes, I heard she got a window treatment specialist.
Unna need stop makin’ fun of poor Julianna Old’Curtains-Conolly 🙃
I think they actually have a harder pathway because they have less to give up (despite not needing to bring two groups together before trying to woo the independents).
Also, the PPM ran against Jay and Isaac, and at least Jay seems pretty vindictive, so I think that works in favor of Andre. Since the CCP didn’t run in East End, I think a CCP-led coalition can dodge the inconvenience that the CNP did field a candidate against Isaac.
Despite the seemingly trickier pathway, I’m guessing the we see a CCP/CNP coalition with Rollie and either (or even both) of Isaac and Jay, with those three pulling Ministries and potentially a Deputy Premier role.
Andre as Premier
Peanut gives up DP but takes a Ministry
Jay (if he comes) keeps Housing and Infrastructure
Rollie gets Education
Isaac (if he comes) gets whatever Ministry he wants
Wayne gets Environment
Split the rest between the balance of CCP/CNP. Kathy gets a Ministry or Speaker (definitely the Speaker if they bring the three independents)
And Cayman is then screwed
Not disagreeing with you. But that’s what I think is coming.
To 5:21pm: Speaker is Miller. Beyond that, you were pretty close.
If we had runoffs we wouldn’t be in this damn mess 😡
Naive question but if no coalition can be formed what is the process?
They keep arguing among themselves until they can, or they call an election again. (Unlikely to get that far though.)
Constitution section 49. There shall be “a ballot [vote] to be held among the elected members of the Legislative Assembly [Parliament] to determine which elected member commands the support of the majority of such members”. Basically they get forced to work it out. Then the Premier appoints their Cabinet ministers.
Usually who this will be – both Premier & Ministers – is known before the vote, hence the horse-trading today. And it may be possible for the Governor to do the appointment based on enough members of parliament signing up to support a particular Premier. But we’re worried about the ‘no coalition’ process.
If, for some reason, they can’t ever reach a majority and get tired of voting then the Governor would dissolve the Parliament (call a new election).
However, remember that Hon. Juliana was Premier with a ‘majority of votes’ but not a majority of support. What usually happens with minority governments around the world is they settle on someone to appoint as premier with a few votes in favour and a bunch of abstentions. Its not unheard of for such a Government to limp along for a few years before early elections are really needed. (Or someone else manages to cobble together a different minority coalition.)
There can only be one Finance Minister. I think Chris would do well with the Ministry of Health given his policy priorities in that area. I hope they can work this out.
If you look up “chicken running round with its head cut off” there’s a picture of CINP after Mr Scott got voted down.
the last thing this country needs is another independent led (which is what cinp is now) coalition going no where
I blame the parties, as none could secure representatives for each riding. My riding only had two choices, and neither was ideal. One was with a small party, and the other was an independent. Why are there so many independents?
$$$$$
I would do away with the party system altogether — force them to work together. Also think we should have two votes: one for district, and one for Premier.
Dan Scott+ Roy McTaggart would have been a great combo!
Scott/McTaggart for the win!
maybe next time
Dan Scott wasn’t elected.
surely you can read that they wrote “would have” and “maybe next time”
Something tells me that this isn’t the first time an Angel might land on a McTaggart but history tends to repeat itself.
“politics makes strange bedfellows”
I really wanted a good change. seems same of the same and people like rutty and Mike Myles who should be good are just going to be Wayne’s puppets.
the more things change the more they stay the same.
nothing a good Cuba Libre couldn’t fis right!
can’t help but wonder if Mr Scott has calculated how much he would have saved just paying for Gary campaign and a direct line to tell him what to do instead of spending millions just to get creamed by juliana
FYI most of the people who voted for her were not BORN caymanians but people she gave status to. If voting was to be ONLY BORN CAYMANIANS, I promise you she would not have gotten in.
You couldn’t be more wrong. Also, she didn’t “give” status to anyone.
@1:09pm. you’re a stupid fool! If she didn’t buy her votes, she wouldn’t have won!
Could Roy do the right thing for his country and leave the PPM? He should be with people of quality and principle. CNP or TCCP would do. Both of those parties were widely supported by his constituency. The PPM has been hijacked.
Now that the Gov is set in motion, this was my exact thought. The TCCP/CINP coalition didn’t need 11 but they went beyond it to create a strong foundation. The PPM are and will always be sharks looking for a trickle of blood in the water. Bringing in Roy would be a clear signal that our new government is not like previous coalitions. Let’s hope they are different from JOCC, KB, and John John. All signs seem to point that way:
– The CINP group are new which actually makes them the most vulnerable but Gary is admirable and would be difficult to stab in the back.
– Most of the TCCP followed Andre late last year in solidarity. I doubt they would play games. Also, it seems like women are more loyal with such significant betrayal decisions (I hope that is acceptable to say!).
– Independents (I don’t really know any of them): Rolston seems to be more selfless this time around with his quick public rejection of the PPM. Jay and Isaac are interesting coalition members given their place in the previous JOCC Cabinet. They must have seen the disfunction from the inside to cause them to completely reject the PPM.
Re: Independents – There is another reason to be surprised by Jay/Isaac joining the Coalition. The Cabinet approved three controversial Coastal Works Permits in their districts on 28 February, five days before nomination day. Strangely, the meeting summary indicated that the summary was published on 21 March, but it was added to the Cabinet website on April 28th, just two days before the election. I surmise that these were meant to gain Jay/Isaac’s trust to join the PPM in forming a government. If my theory is correct, they have now turned their backs on the PPM even though they were given inducements. While these could be considered illegal, they represent just three actions of MANY taken by the Cabinet as a minority government. Conclusion: Jay and Isaac really do not like the PPM, particularly, JOCC/KB/John John.
Lastly, my most concrete feeling is that Peanut was the central figure who brought everyone together. He lives in EE making it likely that he knows Isaac and Jay well. As far as I can tell, no one can say anything bad about Gary. He is trusted as someone who only wants to help the country feeling compelled to come out of retirement to do so. He doesn’t like the limelight and he doesn’t need the MP compensation, his family being the owners of large swaths of prime real estate throughout the island. When this group backs up their claims, we should all thank the Deputy Premier for his actions to bring everyone together.
PPM better not fool around and give Chris the Ministry of Finance.
Ju Ju gettin finance. Chris getting women’s affairs.
I dunno man.
All this talk about change and Gary might go party with Wayne?
I feel betrayed
At least the criminal lost his seat.
Are we too corrupt for him to lose his freedom?
KB kept his sadly
ppm=upm rats…shameful
Any potential coalition government, which has the best overall support of the Caymanian people as a whole, is as follows:
Gary “Peanut” Rutty
Andre Ebanks
Rolston Anglin
Julie Hunter
Kathy Ann Ebanks-Wilks
Jay Ebanks
Nicholas DaCosta
Isaac Rankine
Heather Bodden
Micheal Myles
Wayne Panton
it’s amazing as to your suggestions. the PPM is the most complete party out of the three as decided by the caymanian people and yet you would propose a government without any of them. clearly your bias is more important than what the Cayman people have voted for.
did you look at the election results?? lol
ppm may have gotten sets but they did NOT get the majority vote and are not the peoples choice clearly.
PPM only got 24% of the national vote which is only 4596 votes, they got the seats because they got lucky with vote splitting so……. sorry youre wrong. if TCCP and CINP forms the gov with jay and rollie.. then that will be the peoples choice actually.
#anyonebutPPM
Bro this is the second election that people made it clear that they do not want or understand the political party system. If there is to be a true party system then it should be either or either. No other party or independents. The only way for this horse trading foolishness to stop is just have two parties just like any modern democratic society.
That is one hell of a disaster waiting to happen. Wayne will shut down anything Jay tries to do and may god have mercy on whatever Michael Myles ends up in charge of.
we had a chance and we blew it. Our collective inability as a people to look past our immediate gratification is so ingrained that we re-elected every single person directly responsible for this mess. I’m not sure where we go from here.
Perhaps if it hurts bad enough people will learn.
No, Cayman Brac East and Bodden Town blew it.
And GTW, and they lost out on Bud Johnson…
And beneficiaries of KB!
And I hope it’s extremely painful!
With how bad the last term went how on earth did Wayne get elected again? fired by his own group as premier and then pretends Andre is chief but still just a puppet!
cayman deserves what it gets
If you voted for Roy because he was a solid candidate, but you know he deserves better than PPM call him, message him—reach out to him any way you can and encourage him to leave that cesspit. Their ambition will drive them to annihilate themselves into oblivion.
Tried that the last time. Sadly don’t think he has the integrity that everyone else bestows on him.
So, Roy gets sidelined, we end up with essentially the same UPM government, and construction on the new cruise ship piers begins early in 2026. Congrats Cayman!
Have fun smokin your weed on the way to buy your lottery tickets.
Democracy in action.
Correction – a UDP government will be revealed shortly – Joey is about to be deposed
cayman is not for caymanians anymore. watch how quick town properties list for sale now that cruise is gone
That makes no sense. Properties are bought for stayovers, not for cruise passengers.
Over a million visitors a year on an Island of 80,000 and your response at a resounding rejection of your claims is wailing ‘CRUISE IS GONE” exactly the sort of nonsense which cause the no vote to cruise to victory.
Meanwhile we still have no idea who killed Judiann Myles.
The only reason Gary an his Dan-less crew would form without the clear majority in PPM is because they are the same old C4C (coalition for Cash) and only looking for money gain and not for our people.
“for Caymanians” yeah right. for money is more like it
PPM is the only stability we’ve seen in the last decade.
you want us with Wayne’s group and another no confidence vote?
try so get this done with sensible people and leave Dan Scott and his money in retirement
What?
The last PPM Government (2017-2021) ended with an early election because the PPM decided they’d did not want to remove Mckeeva even though he was convicted of attacking that lady at Coral Beach how is that stability? In the term before that (2013-2017) the PPM had multiple resignations (Alva Suckoo and Anthony Eden) from their benches that left Parliament split 9-9 and led to basically nothing being done for a year and a half.
Genuinely what are you people talking about stability and the PPM in the same sentence for?
What are you smoking and where do I get some???
I can’t decide whether I should weep or laugh at the nonsense some of you with short memories spout because you think that you can just make things up and go unchallenged.
And in 2021 Wayne Panton decided to form a government with the woman beater! He is no better!
And your point is?
I did not approve of that union, nor was it necessary past the formation of the Government they should have ejected him at the earliest opportunity its part of the issue with Wayne he is a decent politician but he does not have what it takes to keep a caucus in line its part of how he was pushed out
I forgot – Winston Connolly also left the 2013-2017 PPM Administration so add his name to the list of facts that disprove your ‘PPM Governments were stable’ nonsense
Wayne and Marco left them as well.
Yet again propped up vote splitting and some diehard koolaid drinkers looking out for their own interests returned a bunch of desperados. God help the ignorant.
Meanwhile let’s celebrate what the grubby and paid hands cannot control- the shores of our beloved Cayman Islands 🇰🇾.
Mr. McTaggart: Be smart.
📞 Leave PPM and join the other group; you are too decent for the vipers’ nest the PPM is today. Be brave. The majority of the electorate will support you.