Are you happy with your choices this election?
(CNS): Back in October 2011, CNS ran a poll to see if people would rather vote for a box of frozen squid over the two parties of the day, the PPM and the UDP. Half of the respondents voted for the squid, while the opposition party at the time, the PPM, garnered 46% of the vote and only 4% said they would vote for the ruling party, the United Democratic Party. The Progressives
The People's Progressive Movement (PPM), also known as the Progressives, was founded in 2002 in response to the launch in 2001 of the United Democratic... More (aka the PPM) have survived to the current elections, while the UDP appears to have been consigned to the political scrap heap.
The UDP (later CDP) leader, McKeeva Bush
McKeeva Bush (CDP), West Bay West MLA Speaker of the LA, Leader of the Cayman Democratic Party. Biography: Bush is the longest serving member and... More, remains a political force and his endorsement does have an impact, both positive and negative. However, his West Bay alliance for the April elections, which currently consists of three candidates, doesn’t appear to have the formality of a party, while the Cayman Islands People’s Party
The Cayman Islands People’s Party launched in November 2020. Ezzard Miller, the current MP for North Side, is the movement’s interim leader but he is... More only has one candidate, Ezzard Miller, on the ticket.
The majority of candidates in 2021 are running as independents or in small aligned groups, seemingly hoping to keep their options open regarding the next government. The only real party in this elections, the PPM, is only running eight candidates, so even if they are returned to power it would have to be in alliance with other MPs. The PPM-led campaign alliance currently includes four independents.
While the PPM would like this election to be about party politics, it’s not at all clear how much this will factor into the voters’ choices, rather than the more traditional measures of personality, ability and personal connections.
When it comes to the ability and personal qualities of the individual candidates, in the 2017 elections voters in some constituencies complained that they were unhappy with the choices presented to them and this may be true in next month’s poll also.
So, now that we all know who is running in each district, it’s time to have a look at how voters view their choice in the 2021 elections. With the lack of party power this time around, we’ve left the box of squid off the poll and provided a more appropriate alternative for people who are unhappy with all the candidates on the ballot in their district.
Category: Poll, Polls, Viewpoints & Analysis
Stop smoking the weed. My 14 year old have more sense than you. He is very upset about that sign see. He’s smart.
How do you get to the poll results?
CNS: If you vote you can see the results.
Voters should have the option to vote “none of the above”. It would send a clear message about the standard of candidates and show how badly Cayman needs Elections Law reforms to deepen the pond. Even a straw poll on that after the election would be helpful to get the discussion going on Election Law reforms. We can’t wait another four years to get it right, or trust that the current field of crooks will disadvantage/disqualify themselves.
Stupid voters are ruling Cayman, just think how we lost the Caribbean finance Minister
CNS – I’d rather vote for the mop but its not running. However with who is running I have to hold my nose. I would suggest ‘choosing not to vote’ is a better formulation for choice 3 to get a clear delighted/disgruntled/disengaged poll.
Many of the election candidates do not have the education to lead us. The forums ask nothing about their knowledge of the Anti-corruption Act, the Standards in Public Act requirement, their individual experiences of leadership.How did they assist needy people in 2020. Etc…very generic questions. Eg how would you develop Red Bay should be does Red Bay need any further development. How can an independent in any Parliamentary system effectively represent the interests of their electors.
Definitely a sorry group of candidates….very few are educated professionals.
These last 2 elections (2017 and 2021) have demonstrated that the move to “one man, one vote” has been less than successful for the choice of candidates.
At least previous cycles allowed for a choice among a wider pool and I was able to feel positive about at least one or two of those candidates.
I’m still amazed that we lost the Caribbean finance minister of the year to the current choice and it’s obvious that many other areas are also faced with choosing between undesirable representatives (and in at least one case two very worthy considerations).
I would like to see a return to the previous structure of voting.
No Weed! No Vote!