MPs vote against EBC report for lack of public engagement
(CNS): Acting Premier André Ebanks explained to MPs on Friday why the premier’s office and Cabinet have suggested that they should reject the Electoral Boundary Commission’s 2023 report, which recommended altering most of the constituency boundaries within the districts and renaming them with numbers or adding a new seat in Bodden Town. Ebanks made it clear that it was a decision for the elected members, but as he presented the motion about the report, he raised a number of considerations that made accepting the report problematic, not least the low turnout during the consultation process.
He pointed to the exceptionally low level of participation during the public consultation, the significant lack of awareness about the proposals, and concerns that the commission had not given enough consideration to the socioeconomic diversity of seats.
Ebanks also noted the short timeframe to implement the significant changes proposed and the need for wider consideration of the issues surrounding a modern, fit-for-purpose electoral landscape.
In his job as acting premier, he outlined the need for an entirely different approach to public engagement using social media and digital means, among a number of other issues that needed to be addressed before such a significant change to constituencies. Cabinet has already voted to launch another commission, which Ebanks indicated would take a very different approach.
As he outlined the motion, he said the premier’s office had met its obligation to present it in accordance with the law; the rest was now up to MPs.
Opposition Leader Roy McTaggart said the matter should have been dealt with at the beginning of a parliament, not towards the end, as he made it clear the opposition supported rejecting the report. He said it was simply too late to implement the changes and would lead to voter confusion, given the significant changes proposed.
MPs then roundly rejected any changes to their constituency boundaries for the next election, which is expected to take place next April.
Registered voters, 23,464 at the most recent count on 1 July, will be electing a new government next year from the same constituencies as the last election. However, variation in their sizes, which now range from the smallest constituencies on the Sister Islands to the largest on Grand Cayman, are now way beyond international recommendations.
On Grand Cayman, even within the historical boundaries, the differences are significant. For example, West Bay Central has just 1,191 registered voters while West Bay South has 1,542. East End, the smallest constituency on Grand Cayman, has just 753 voters while its neighbouring constituency of Bodden Town East, the largest constituency, has 1,647, which is a huge disparity.
There is speculation that government will hold a referendum on General Election Day, which could include questions about the legalisation of gambling, the decriminalisation of ganja and the government’s plans for a new cargo port, which could include a cruise berthing facility.
There are several thousand people who are eligible to vote but are not registered, and such significant questions could lead to a surge of new registrations in the coming months and a further widening of the gaps in constituency sizes.
See the 2023 EBC report in the CNS Library.
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Category: 2025 General Elections, Elections, Politics
questions like this should be included on the ballots during elections. Simple Yes/No questions included on the ballot would allow the voting public to express their support or inhibitions regarding a number of key issues on island such as Cannabis, development, environmental protections, marriage rights etc.
This will of course never be implemented as it would remove the excuse of “we dont know what the public wants”
All Lies!! It was rejected because it wouldnt be favourable to politicians!. Lack of Public conideration has’nt stopped passing motions or bills. Political will or lack thereof.
We cant keep adding MPs but what do you bet thats what happens. Pretty soon it will be one man one MP. And yes NS and EE should be one constituency as well as The Brac and little Cayman. All should be based on population its only fair.
ok lets have a referendum. that will engage everyone.
1) Should we combine East End and Northside into one electoral district. Yes/No
2) Should we ammend the constitution so that Cayman Brac and Little Cayman have pbe member as is best intetnstional practice Y/N
3) should we adjust districts to best allow for proportional voting Y/N
4) Should we change the system to Preferential Voting. Y/N
Ministers: “We need more public engagement”
The public: *doesn’t support project”
Ministers: “The environmentalist lobby is biasing results.”
Yes, EE and NS should have just one district.
Yes, Sister Islands should have just one rep
Yes, we should have proportional voting. All votes are equal.
Yes, we can’t let people who have managed to buy unwavering support from a very small number of people run the country.
Cayman is a UKOT with a population that could barely support a Taylor Swift concert.
All we need is 10 MPs max. And 10 votes per person (ie a national vote).
The PPM inflicted single member garrison scheme has failed badly and benefits only the politicians. Even Mac voted against it, although that was only for optics.
BOTC
I understand the impulse to make parliament smaller, but our tiny parliament is already a problem. These days it is very rare for any party in any country to enjoy a large majority. But a 53/47% split in the US House of Reps would give the majority party 10 extra seats, which is not ideal but is manageable. In Cayman, that split gives the majority party a one-seat majority.
What that means is that every and any member of government can hold the entire government hostage to their personal agenda. The can demand whatever they want and obstruct whatever they or their supporters do not want. The government has no choice but to comply because losing their support would mean a no-confidence vote. This dynamic is an open door to corruption. It explains why we cannot solve problems like the landfill and also why we get white elephant projects in certain districts.
I would go in the opposite direction and add 10 new at-large members that represent the entire country. This would mitigate the “tyrannical, venal minority” problem and provide a counter-weight to the paralysing parochialism.
At the same time, back-bench MPs should be part time, with a part time salary to match. This would reduce the total cost of our parliament dramatically, avoid good candidates having to sacrifice their career to stand, and make running less attractive to those with no prospect of a six figure salary in the normal employment market.
Cayman needs to amend the Elections Law, to ban those with criminal histories and/or serious civil convictions in relation to past/present breaches of trust, and that should include DUIs and violent episodes. They should not be handling money, authoring policy, or legislating their own immunity. The Nolan Principles demand that we update the Law to improve and deepen the associated candidate pool. There aren’t many like André that are so willing to hold their noses and associate with this crowd, but it doesn’t need to stay that way.
The constitution mandates that the Premier table an amended Order if the initial order is voted down. Did we gloss over this requirement because both the Government and the Opposition agreed to play dictator and ignore the reports findings? Funny that we call these Commissions “Institutions supporting Democracy” and then blatantly walk over peoples rights immediately afterwards.
Madam Governor….we really need to hear from you !!
(5) If the motion for the approval of any draft order laid under this section is rejected by the
Legislative Assembly or is withdrawn by leave of the Assembly, an amended draft shall be laid
without undue delay by the Premier before the Assembly.