Election News
(CNS): Longtime broadcaster and CIGTV news anchor Donna Bush was making instead of reading the headlines on Thursday when the Progressives announced she would be running for office in Savannah on their platform. Rumours that had circulated for more than a week that Bush would be replacing Josh Parsons, who recently dropped out of the […]
(CNS): A week on and just under 1,900 votes later, TCCP Leader André Ebanks has topped the first CNS Election Section 2025 straw poll as the reader’s choice for premier. Ebanks received 34% of the vote, six points above CINP Leader Dan Scott and twelve points ahead of the PPM Leader Joey Hew. While Scott […]
(CNS): Pearlina McGaw-Lumsden has been unveiled as the Progressives’ tenth candidate as the clock counts down to the party conference this week. Another newcomer to the party but no stranger to the campaign trail, she will be battling it out for the PPM in George Town West, the seat held by David Wight, a long-time […]
(CNS): Cayman’s worst kept political secret was finally confirmed on Tuesday when the People’s Progressive Movement (PPM) officially announced that Dwayne “John-John” Seymour has joined the party and will contest the upcoming election under the PPM banner. Seymour campaigned on the same platform as the PPM in 2021 but did not sign up for the […]
(CNS): Alric Lindsay, a financial services executive, has thrown his hat in the political ring again in a third attempt to take the seat of George Town South, which is now open. Once again, Lindsay is campaigning as an independent but is open to aligning with a party or group if he can be convinced […]
(CNS): Dan Scott, the leader of the Cayman Islands National Party and candidate for Cayman Brac East, has filed a suit against Brac resident and local vlogger Kerry Tibbetts-Whittaker over at least seven social media posts and vlogs about him that the would-be premier claims were defamatory. In an affidavit, Scott outlined allegations that Tibbetts-Whittaker […]
(CNS): Local attorney Phillip Ebanks, an ex-police officer and former civil servant, has declared his candidacy for the constituency of Red Bay, left vacant by the retirement of Sir Alden McLaughlin after more than 25 years as an MP. Ebanks is the fifth candidate to declare his intentions in the constituency on the edge of […]
(CNS): After several weeks courting Deputy Premier Kenneth Bryan, the incumbent for George Town Central, the Progressives have announced that he has returned to the party where he started his political career but then successfully ran for office twice as an independent candidate. The PPM made the announcement on social media as Bryan appeared on […]
(CNS): Elections Supervisor Wesley Howell has said the concerns and objections relating to the last register of electors before the general election on 30 April will be published on 26 February. The window for objections closed on Wednesday last week. Over the next 21 days, election officials will go through the challenges and ensure that […]
(CNS): All candidates running for office on 30 April must fill in the Register of Interests form declaring all of their assets and potential conflicts before Nomination Day on 3 March. The register enables the public to make informed decisions on polling day about whether or not their candidates have interests that could undermine their […]
The case for a national vote for Cabinet leaders
James E. Whittaker writes: One of the most common complaints among the voting populace in the Cayman Islands is the continual lack of positive outcomes on the key issues facing the country: the cost of living, affordable housing, energy, healthcare, education and more. Many of us believe the root cause of this is because our […]
Haven’t we had a referendum on cruise berthing before?
Michelle Lockwood, CPR Cayman, writes: You may be wondering: Why are we having a referendum now? Wasn’t this already decided? The short answer is no. CPR Cayman began a petition for a people-initiated referendum in the summer of 2018. Our petition asked: “Should the cruise berthing facility, a matter of national importance, be decided solely […]
To anyone bashing their MP for going AWOL the past four years
Change writes: Every constituency has the same issue when their MP becomes a minister. It is not that they stop caring about their area, but Cabinet members have no choice but to tackle issues at national level, and that takes budget, meetings, reports, travel, conference calls, sitting with lawyers to streamline bills and laws — all […]
Experienced incumbents vs. patriotic candidates
Cayman Sentinel writes: For decades, Caymanian politics has been dominated by the idea that experience is the most valuable asset a candidate can have. Career politicians tell us that because they have been in office before, they are the only ones qualified to lead. They argue that without their knowledge of government operations, the country […]
Repackaged political convenience
Michael Myles writes: As a citizen of my beloved Cayman Islands, I write this with a deep sense of frustration and disgust at how low and dishonest our political landscape has become. On 1 March, I witnessed politics at its worst — a spectacle of hypocrisy disguised as leadership. The chairman of the PPM stood […]
Cascabel 73 writes: There are a few realities that escape voters in our beloved islands. One: No candidate, even if they become a minister, can “change” anything by simply dictating it. In reality, ministers are very limited in what they can do. Even the bills (future laws) they bring are put together by lawyers who do […]
Frankenstein’s monster of Caymanian politics
Unbought Caymanian writes: It’s official — Cayman’s political merry-go-round has taken yet another spin, and we’re right back where we started. The Progressives (PPM), once seen as a somewhat steady hand, have now thrown caution, credibility, and any remaining standards out the window.
Independents, parties and campaign donors
Political Watchdog writes: Yesterday we watched a political telenovela unfold with the second premier and fourth deputy premier walking into parliament. And some people want to blame this on “independents”. Keen observers of Caymanian politics will know this isn’t about being independent or with a party. It’s about the character of the people running and […]
Ideas and oratory versus ‘fridgocracy’
Lite Poll: About 2,500 years ago, the Ancient Greeks developed a radical system of government in which all male citizens voted on the important decisions for their city state. (Slaves and women were not invited.) As democracy progressed, persuasive public speaking became an intrinsic part of politics as men learned, studied and practised the art […]
Same election cliche but new reasons
Charles Clifford writes: Voters are rightly concerned about our 2025 general election. Every four years, we repeat the cliche that “this is the most important election in our history”. That cliche was true for specific reasons in the past, for example, during our post-Hurricane Ivan recovery and again during the COVID-19 pandemic recovery. Read the […]
