UPM entirely rejects election boundary report
(CNS): Cabinet has rejected the Electoral Boundary Commission’s report and recommendations on how to address the imbalances in the Cayman Islands’ democratic landscape. According to a Cabinet note regarding a 27 June meeting, which was released by the government on Wednesday, the UPM supports a motion by Premier Juliana O’Connor-Connolly to establish a new boundary commmission to do the review over.
This latest EBC handed over its completed work in August last year, but since then, the government has remained silent on the issue. One EBC member, local attorney Steve McField, recently expressed his anger that the report had been effectively ignored. The opposition MPs have also voiced their concerns about how much time has elapsed since the document was handed to the government.
While the brief Cabinet note does not indicate why the administration has rejected the report, it says that ministers have approved the tabling of a motion in the upcoming meeting of parliament “proposing the acceptance of an Order from the Governor to reject all recommendations contained in the 2023 Electoral Boundary Commission Report and to seek the Governor’s support in accordance with Section 89 (1) of the Constitution, to establish a new Electoral Boundary Commission with revised Terms of Reference (ToR) to ensure equitable representation and comprehensive consultation”.
This means that the current constituencies will be in place for the next general election, even though they are now significantly different in size.
Check back to CNS later for more on this story.
See the Electoral Boundary Commission Report 2023 in the CNS Library.
- Fascinated
- Happy
- Sad
- Angry
- Bored
- Afraid
Good. Now reject yourselves.
Throw away the Single Member Cons. and OMOV.
Create a National voting system instead that includes us voting for Premier and Deputy Gov (before Franz retires and some Beavis steps in).
Add a new local Deputy Governor instead of the Grinning dollies that England sends us now.
Look at those present in photo op .This is a non starter the yellow ties says it all. The absolute worst government has to offer, adding another political scumbag is like adding insult to an already terrible injury and injustice in Cayman.
1. Give us the reasons for the rejection in lay man terms. The public deserves that much from the Premier and her ‘followers’.
2. If it is rejected then put it away. Just maybe, it could/would/might be looked at again more favourably by another government.
3. Don’t waste our monies on another report. No doubt she will contract another body of people most likely the most expensive bid, to give another report that they will reject again. It is not her money and she nor any of our politicians are struggling to keep up with the cost of living in Cayman, so collectively they don’t care about continuing to waste our money.
4. We are truly the most wasteful country in the world. What a title to have achieved in this day and age. Shame on Caymanian Politicians for wasting our resources like we couldn’t grumble in a heart beat.
5. How have our politicians forgotten that they were elected and therefore are representatives of the people. We are your boss not the other way around. DO NOT FORGET THIS VOTERS! I voted for change in the last election but I WILL NOT be voting for any of the incumbent ones the next go around.
Give us the reasons for the rejection in lay man terms. The public deserves that much from the Premier and her ‘followers’.
1. Didn’t have time to read it?
2. Read it but didn’t understand?
Were the politicians concerned about inequality? One man one vote should be done away with. It has only caused the districts to have less representation, in that next to nothing is given priority and very little is done. Prime example is BTE where a car dump is on the main road and the MP has on his blinders, so he can not see the need to have it cleaned up.
BTE is the fastest growing section, which cannot be touched until after election.
I truly hope you and I have a choice ‘next go around’.
I haven’t read the report. I did though attend the meetings in George and Bodden Towns to advise residents of the recommendations of the Review. I know in those districts of GT MPs for GTC and BTE were not pleased by the suggested district names changes. The suggested name changes were confusing and baffling to me also. The examples were GT1, GT2, GT3, GT4, GT5 and certain boundary changes especially for GTN, C, and S if I recall correctly. BT1, BT2 and for the third recommended district of Bodden Town to be called BT3. The MP for BTE (rightly in my opinion) offered BTW, BTC, and then would be BTE. It would make more sense and easier to remember and less confusing to residents.
What I voiced in GT was that there were not meetings, and moreso in areas where residents were “on the ground”/neighborhood areas, where residents could really voice their input. Voicing this question my opinion at this meeting was basically shot down.
Respectfully also what threw me off was that we brought in a consultant from the U.S. with my conclusion was despite her having done the previous Review also I personally don’t feel that the Review was done on the basis of what’s conducive to the Cayman Islands as it is today. Also there were certain aspects of the Review for example she said that there was no program not by our relevant government office I believe it was the Planning Dept which was referred, available to show the differences in the resident figures if the new boundaries were approved (or something to that effect). When asked by MP for GTC whether there were any way to track or see that data. It was a logical and sensible question considering the recommended changes which would affect on a whole, GT the most.
Again because I have not read the entire report I am only speaking from my attendance to the two meetings. Disappointedly they weren’t that well attended and one of the reasons why I thought there should have been more meetings on the ground and in neighborhoods as I had expressed during my attendance to the meetings giving the findings of the Review. I personally think a new consultant should be brought in with a fresh view, fresh insight and outlook to realize that the population has grown, the country has grown and the technology has advanced; that his needs to be in place while doing the review and for certain data and information to be available to the public on how the reviewer was conducted. Many other jurisdictions are up to standard with programs to provide those datas. I think Mrs. Rosie Myles and Mr. Steve McField from what I heard during the two final meetings did their fair share and gave invaluable input and advice to the process, (although I was not too in the know and keeping abreast of it while it was taking place). Perhaps the people should be offered a synopsis of why. Some things are in the interest of “national security” and certain information is not always to publicly be available. But there are ways to at least give the people a reason or reasons. If it’s one thing I learned in the field of law is been a clan comes to your office and wants to know about their case or you give them information about their matter, even though it may not be the information they want to hear it has generally appeased the client to merely know information was provided and the interest of the client is still being taken into consideration.
Merely my limited opinion.
Was it really about the names (or rather numbers BT1, etc) of constituencies?
Schoolyarding??
Not even fit to run a bath…never mind a country!.
any comment mrs governor???
Can CNS ask the Governor why she is rejecting it?
when ignoramuses who don’t have a mandate of the people carry on as if they are supreme beings, it is high time to put them in their place; OUT OF PARLIAMENT.
Madame Governor we know yourself or staff read the comments of this platform. You are therefore urged to call an election before Caymanians start a riot like you will never imagine can occur. The natives are restless and rightly so. ACt now please Your Excellency.
But we have to pay for this to be “done over” – per the Premier! Why??
Stop wasting our money!!!
JOCC will do what she pleases when she pleases with no regard for the wider Cayman Islands and without reason. She is a disastrous Premier, truly hopeless minister for education but always the consummate politician. She will be elected in the Brac until she determines it’s time to step down.
We really are effed in Cayman. PPM may not have been worth much more than a fart in a windy night but they could not have been worse than this bunch of devious numbskulls. At the rate we’re going, Seymour will be Premier one day and that says it all.
Seymour is wishful thinking, it will more likely be Kenneth and trust me…that will be the end for us!
Political power in the hands of a few dingbats absolutely meaningless rubbish report !
This was never going to sell with these united political Morons UPM so another million dollar report for the Archive dump How long as this been going on ?
With Steve McField in charge what could have possibly gone wrong?
Cue the Jaws music.
The most senior lawyer in Cayman. As Steve reminds us every time he turns up in traffic court and insists on his clients being dealt with first.
Jackie Chiles SR.
This is absolutely ridiculous!! They continue to waste time and money. How is this woman the leader of Government?
The cabinet should have ZERO say in the electoral boundary commission. What an apparent conflict of interest!
Can we please have the very first thing that elected MPs be required to do is a course in conflicts of interest.
And ethics
It’s also unconstitutional I believe. UK needs to step in and whilst they’re at it also make changes to the Elections law.
Its clear that this government must be called to step down, we must organize protests outside the Legislative assembly calling for an immediate dissolution of parliament and the calling of fresh elections.
And who do we wote for instead?
at this point? i would vote for a rock over this bunch.
Trust me the only reason that they are rejecting this report is because it doesn’t suit their chances of getting re-elected.
They are all hoping that as things normally do in Cayman that if they get this out of the way now that we will all forget about it by the time election comes around..
That nah happenin this time JuJu…don’t worry no matter what you do Dan Scott is going to kick your behind to the curb…There are enough Brackers up here tire of you now.
Steve won’t be happy. First they remove him as chair of the immigration board and appoint him to the appeal tribunal, whilst not allowing him to opine on any of the appeals of decisions during his tenure, basically making it a meaningless appointment, now this. I am guessing his recommendations on revising the PR scoring system are also headed for file 13.
They couldn’t agree on a night out
I think you mean they could not organize a pissup at a brewery.
our political landscape is a cesspool. I truly hope some intellectual and moral Caymanians come together and form a new political group.
Left me stuttering.
Ammendment the constitution immediately by giving the sister Islands just one vote. They have WAY TOO MUCH POLITICAL POWER.
So HE The Governor is the one who rejected the Boundary Commission Report. And UPM are going along. Just to be clear.
https://www.gov.ky/publication-detail/cabinet-post-meeting-summary-27-june-2024
Honorable Premier and the Honorable Governor know what is best for Cayman. Hold a steady course Honorable Juliana, you are the best!
back to your cave, you.
So why have they rejected it? Is it because it gives more power to the bigger communities in GC and less power to the sister islands for JuJu and her cronies? It certainly looks that way when they reject it without any reasons given. This simply isn’t right and the Governor should step in and mandate that the proposed EBC report be accepted unless there are valid reasons why this shouldn’t occur.
If the government doesn’t accept it then it makes a mockery of democracy and the democratic process which at its core is about fair representation, not manipulated representation.
The guv rejected it, according to the article and the minutes.
Marsupial- “Governor”, in matters of Cabinet, means the political members, collectively. As head of Cabinet, the Governor has to endorse it.
Just like the “Governor” appoints MPs political cronies to Boards.
The Constitutional provisions are drafted very badly and they are interpreting them to say Govt can reject the report.
“which at its core is about fair representation, not manipulated representation”…
Good!
Exactly. Spot Bay, Creek, Watering Place, The Bight, Stake Bay, Cotton Tree Bay and West End each need their own seats!
lol! Good one @ 3:22!
haha!
I’m sure that is exactly what she is after.
Spot Bay REPresent!
why?
Did the report take proper account of all prospective voters? Are the electoral district boundaries, and numbers of persons within them, sufficiently consistent with constitutional expectations?
why yes, yes it did.
Why is it good? Enquiring minds want to know?