2013 Caymanian general election

Last updated
2013 Caymanian general election
Flag of the Cayman Islands.svg
←  2009 22 May 2013 2017  →
18 seats in the Legislative Assembly of the Cayman Islands
10 seats needed for a majority
Turnout79.93% [1]
PartyLeader%Seats+/–
PPM Alden McLaughlin 36.079+4
UDP McKeeva Bush 27.753-6
C4C 18.613New
PNA Juliana O'Connor-Connolly 5.671New
Independents –11.902+1
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
Premier beforePremier after
Juliana O'Connor-Connolly
PNA 		Alden McLaughlin
PPM

General elections were held in the Cayman Islands on 22 May 2013. [2] The incumbent United Democratic Party (UDP) government fell on a motion of non-confidence in December 2012 and was replaced by an interim government made up of former UDP members who formed the People's National Alliance (PNA). The main competition in the election was between the People's Progressive Movement (Progressives) and the UDP, with the PNA and a new political group the Coalition for Cayman (C4C) presenting an insufficient number of candidates to win a majority government.

Contents

The Progressives won half of the seats (9), with the UDP and C4C taking 3 each, and outgoing Premier of the Cayman Islands Juliana O'Connor-Connolly holding the only seat for the PNA. The two incumbent independents were also re-elected. Progressive leader Alden McLaughlin formed a new government.

Background

In the 2009 elections, the United Democratic Party led by its founder and former Premier McKeeva Bush won a majority government. Bush returned to office as Premier until December 2012, when he lost a motion of confidence in the legislature. The confidence motion was triggered by a criminal investigation of Bush and was supported by the opposition People's Progressive Movement and dissident members of his own party, including members of the cabinet. A new government was formed by these dissidents, led by Bush's former deputy Juliana O'Connor-Connolly. Bush would later be charged with four counts of breach of trust, and five counts of theft. Bush continued to lead his party. O'Connor-Connolly and her cabinet formed their own party called the People's National Alliance, [3] but only the five incumbent cabinet ministers stood as candidates under its banner. A fourth party, the Coalition for Cayman, put forward seven candidates, whilst 17 independents also contested the elections. [4]

Electoral system

The outgoing Legislative Assembly had 18 members, of which three were appointed (the Chief Secretary, the Attorney-General and the Financial Secretary) and 15 were elected. [2] However, under constitutional changes passed in 2009, the new assembly will have 18 elected members. [5] George Town gained 2 new seats, and Bodden Town gained one new seat. Each of the six districts forms a constituency, with six members elected in George Town, four each in West Bay and Bodden Town, two in Cayman Brac and Little Cayman and one in North Side and East End. The members of the multi-member districts are elected by plurality-at-large voting, where every voter can vote for as many candidates as there are seats.

Results

The opposition Progressives more than doubled their seat count to 9, bringing them one seat short of an overall majority. Progressive leader Alden McLaughlin has said he will talk with Change for Cayman (C4C) and independent MLAs about the possibility of supporting his government. Another option would be having an opposition member become speaker, which would give the Progressives a majority of 9-8 among voting members. [6]

The opposition United Democratic Party (UDP) lost 1 seat but was down 6 from their 2009 result, and failed to sweep the West Bay district for the first time in 12 years. The governing People's National Alliance, a breakaway group from the UDP, lost 4 of its 5 seats. C4C, a new political organization, won 3 seats, while incumbent independents Ezzard Miller and Arden McLean (a former Progressive) held their seats.

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
People's Progressive Movement 21,85936.079+4
United Democratic Party 16,81627.753–6
Coalition for Cayman 11,27518.613New
People's National Alliance 3,4365.671New
Independents 7,21211.902+1
Total60,598100.0018+3
Total votes14,760–
Registered voters/turnout18,49279.82
Source: Caribbean Elections

By district

George Town
(6 members)
ResultCandidateVotesVote %Incumbent
First Elected Member Kurt Tibbetts 247041.9%Kurt Tibbetts
Second Elected MemberRoy McTaggart216036.7%Michael Adam
Third Elected Member Alden McLaughlin 214536.4%Alden McLaughlin
Fourth Elected MemberMarco Archer208535.4%Ellio Solomon
Fifth Elected MemberWinston Conolly203934.6%new seat
Sixth Elected MemberJoseph Hew194032.9%new seat
 
Unsuccessful
candidates		Michael Adam188932.1% 
Sharon Roulstone181230.8%
Lucille Seymour176830.0%
Kenneth Bryan173529.5%
Jude Scott168128.5%
Derrington Miller159027.0%
Ellio Solomon152825.9%
Jonathan Piercy143924.4%
Walling Whittaker141324.0%
Renard Moxam134522.8%
Rayal Bodden133022.6%
Stefan Baraud112419.1%
Jaqueline Hayes103517.6%
Frank McField2113.6%
Mathew Leslie911.5%
West Bay
(4 members)
ResultCandidateVotesVote %Incumbent
First Elected Member McKeeva Bush 158347.3%McKeeva Bush
Second Elected MemberTara Rivers148344.3%Rolston Anglin
Third Elected MemberBernie Bush146043.6%Cline Glidden
Fourth Elected MemberEugene Ebanks130739.0%Eugene Ebanks
 
Unsuccessful
candidates		Velma Powery-Hewitt107232.0% 
Mervin Smith106531.8%
Woody DaCosta85525.5%
Rolston Anglin78223.4%
Ray Farrington67120.0%
Dalkeith Bothwell65019.4%
Cline Glidden61718.4%
Bryan Ebanks55216.5%
Dwene Ebanks37011.1%
Andrea Christian2627.8%
Bodden Town
(4 members)
ResultCandidateVotesVote %Incumbent
First Elected MemberAnthony Eden178149.6%Mark Scotland
Second Elected MemberOsbourne Bodden161545.0%Anthony Eden
Third Elected MemberWayne Panton157143.7%Dwayne Seymour
Fourth Elected MemberAlva Suckoo139338.8%new seat
 
Unsuccessful
candidates		Maureen Pitcairn135237.6% 
Charles Clifford122034.0%
Christopher Saunders109830.6%
Mark Scotland86424.1%
Dwayne Seymour71219.8%
Errington Webster51214.3%
Arnold Berry2065.7%
Gregg Anderson1925.3%
Vincent Frederick1363.8%
Cayman Brac and Little Cayman
(2 members)
ResultCandidateVotesVote %Incumbent
First Elected MemberMoses Kirkconnell62875.2%Moses Kirkconnell
Second Elected Member Juliana O'Connor-Connolly 46155.2%Juliana O'Connor-Connolly
 
Unsuccessful
candidates		David Bodden18622.3% 
Maxine McCoy-Moore9311.1%
North Side
(1 member)
ResultCandidateVotesVote %Incumbent
Elected MemberEzzard Miller32670.1%Ezzard Miller
Unsuccessful candidateJoseph Ebanks13929.9%
East End
(1 member)
ResultCandidateVotesVote %Incumbent
Elected MemberArden McLean31757.2%Arden McLean
Unsuccessful candidateJohn McLean23742.8%

Aftermath

Government formation

No party won an overall majority, but with the Progressives winning half of the seats and three times more seats than any other grouping, they're expected to form the government, either on their own or in coalition with independent members. It is expected that the government will be formed within a week of the election. [6]

Independent members-elect from the C4C group and others had held preliminary talks among themselves to see about forming a coalition government with the Progressives. [7] However, Alden McLaughlin's Progressives have secured a workable majority in the legislature by getting the agreement of outgoing premier Juliana O'Connor-Connolly to serve as speaker, leaving the Progressives a 9-8 majority of ordinarily voting members. McLaughlin held a news conference on Saturday May 25 naming the Progressives that would sit in cabinet and also indicating that he had asked C4C-backed MLA Tara Rivers to join the cabinet, which would give the government a 10-7 working majority. [8] Thereafter, Rivers held a public meeting to assess her constituents views on whether to join the cabinet, the public was nearly unanimous in supporting her to join. [9] Following Rivers public meeting, the two other C4C MLAs indicated that they would reconsider their previous announcement not to join the government. As a result, McLaughlin cancelled a planned morning news conference on Tuesday May 28 in order to have further discussions with the C4C MLAs with an eye to a potential Progressives/C4C coalition government. [10]

Later Tuesday, it was announced that O'Connor-Connolly would join the Progressive caucus despite earlier statements that she would not do so when she was announced as speaker. As a result, the Progressives have a true majority of 10-8 allowing them to be appointed to government by the Governor of the Cayman Islands without a vote of the legislature. [11] Thereafter, McLaughlin announced the full make-up of his cabinet, including a portfolio for C4C MLA Tara Rivers. McLaughlin also announced that C4C MLA Winston Connolly would sit in the government caucus and play a role in Rivers' ministry in a non-cabinet position and that the government would support the other C4C MLA Roy McTaggart for chair of the Public Accounts Committee. [12] Two weeks after the election, McTaggart crossed the floor to sit with his C4C colleagues in the government caucus, accordingly he will have to step down from his position as Chairman of Public Accounts, a post always occupied by an opposition member. [13] This leaves the government with a 13-5 majority.

Electoral reform

This will be the last election under the block voting system as a result of the election of the Progressives. Progressive leader Alden McLaughlin reiterated his commitment after the election to move to a "one man one vote" system with a single-member electoral districts. McLaughlin will use the result of the non-binding 2012 referendum on such a system rather than holding a new referendum. [6]

Eligibility challenges

After the results of the vote, the husband of the fifth-place finisher in the West Bay electoral district Velma Powery-Hewitt, filed a suit in the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands challenging the eligibility of Tara Rivers to have run and serve in the legislative assembly. Had the challenge been successful, Powery-Hewitt stood to take Rivers' seat in the legislature.

The Cayman Islands constitution forbids election to the legislative assembly to a person:

The challenger argued that Rivers had been absent to the UK for more than 400 days where Rivers worked at a law firm. Rivers argued that her work at the law firm included extensive training and that it should be deemed "attendance as a student at (an) educational establishment" as permitted by the constitution. The challenger also argued that by applying for and receiving a U.S. passport, to which Rivers was entitled by virtue of having been born there, she was express allegiance to the United States and was therefore ineligible under the restrictions against dual citizenship. Rivers argued that no allegiance was given in exchange for the passport and that she was required by law as a U.S. citizen to enter the U.S. using a U.S. passport, not the passport of another country.

The court ruled with Rivers and she was allowed to keep her seat. [14] This prompted some complaint from others who did not present themselves as candidates though they had the same qualifications as Rivers but were advised they were ineligible to run by elections officials, and by an individual who had renounced her U.S. citizenship believing she had to do so to run. Powery-Hewitt's husband later attempted to appeal the decision, [15] but as the Constitution states that electoral questions are the sole jurisdiction of the Grand Court, the Court of Appeal declined to hear the case. [16]

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References

  1. ↑ Fuller, Brent (22 May 2013). "Polls close, 15,000 voters turn out". compasscayman.com. Archived from the original on 2013-06-28.
  2. 1 2 "IFES Election Guide | Country Profile: Cayman Islands". electionguide.org. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
  3. ↑ Connolly, Norma (26 March 2013). "People's National Alliance formed :: Elections Coverage 2013". compasscayman.com. Archived from the original on 2013-03-30.
  4. ↑ "Cayman Islands general election Wednesday". jamaicaobserver.com. 20 May 2013. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2013-05-21.
  5. ↑ "The Legislative Assembly". gov.ky. 2009-11-04. Archived from the original on 2013-09-04.
  6. 1 2 3 Whittaker, James (24 May 2013). "Progressives look to form government :: Elections Coverage 2013". compasscayman.com. Archived from the original on 2013-06-07.
  7. ↑ Whittaker, James (28 May 2013). "Alternative government plan fails :: Elections Coverage 2013". compasscayman.com. Archived from the original on 2013-06-09.
  8. ↑ Watler, Kevin; Kennedy, Paul (25 May 2013). "New government revealed". cayman27.com.ky. Archived from the original on 2013-06-09. Retrieved 2013-05-26.
  9. ↑ Connolly, Norma (27 May 2013). "West Bay tells Rivers to take Cabinet post". compasscayman.com. Archived from the original on 2013-06-28.
  10. ↑ Fuller, Brent (28 May 2013). "Coalition gov't in the offing". compasscayman.com. Archived from the original on 2013-06-15.
  11. ↑ Connolly, Norma (28 May 2013). "Juliana joins PPM". compasscayman.com. Archived from the original on 2013-06-28.
  12. ↑ Whittaker, James (28 May 2013). "New Premier confirms his government". compasscayman.com. Archived from the original on 2013-06-08.
  13. ↑ Watler, Kevin (6 June 2013). "Roy McTaggart appointed as a Councillor". cayman27.com.ky. Archived from the original on 2013-06-09. Retrieved 2013-06-11.
  14. ↑ Watler, Kevin; Sulliman, Tammi (9 August 2013). "Chief Justice: Hon. Tara Rivers keeps WB seat". cayman27.com.ky. Archived from the original on 2013-08-13. Retrieved 2013-08-26.
  15. ↑ Stoner, Tad (26 August 2013). "Lawyers ask Court of Appeal to overturn Tara Rivers decision :: cayCompass.com". compasscayman.com. Archived from the original on 2013-08-29.
  16. ↑ Stoner, Tad (18 November 2013). "Court rejects challenge to Rivers's eligibility". compasscayman.com. Archived from the original on 2013-11-20. Retrieved 2013-11-18.
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