The Government has scrapped plans to hold a referendum on their constitutional modernisation proposals in May.
While Cabinet are still in discussions over when the referendum should happen, Cabinet Minister Alden McLaughlin told the Caymanian Compass Wednesday the government was looking at dates ‘before September’.
‘I think this is a clear demonstration of how we are approaching this process,’ Mr. McLaughlin said.
‘Our mind was not made up in advance. We have listed to what people are saying, not just about what they want in the constitution, but what they are saying about more time; about what issues are concerning them.
‘As we’ve gone around, we’ve determined that this whole question over a bill of rights and the confusion over human rights and its impact on Cayman is a real sticking point.
‘We need to extend the period so we can have proper dialogue on these issues.’
Added time will also allow government to address what Mr. McLaughlin described as ‘disinformation and obvious scare mongering’ from the opposition United Democratic Party over the issue of independence.
‘I think the independence rhetoric has run its course… but it takes time to get to people… and to demonstrate to them that what the Opposition says is completely baseless.’
Mr. McLaughlin said government plans to meet with non-governmental entities in the coming weeks, including the Cayman Ministers Association and the Cayman Islands Chamber of Commerce, as part of the process.
The Government is also considering making further changes to their human rights proposals, to allay voter’s fears over controversial topics such as gay marriage and prayer in school.
Mr. McLaughlin noted that Government has to give the elections office sufficient lead time to finalise arrangements for the referendum.
In January, Supervisor of Elections Kearney Gomez said the Elections Office needed 60 days to prepare for Cayman’s first-ever referendum.
Many of those preparations have already begun, including the recruitment and training of some 300 poll workers, Mr. Gomez said yesterday.
Some preparations cannot be done in advance, such as arrangements for postal ballots.
‘We have to publish the Notice of Referendum. Immediately after that, we have to move to the issuing of postal ballots,’ Mr. Gomez said.
Deputy Supervisor Colford Scott explained that any timeline has to include at least six weeks to accommodate postal ballots – applications, issue and return. He emphasised that the Elections Office will not accept applications for postal ballots until the referendum date is known.
The first training session was held on 18 March, when veteran election workers and a number of new recruits were invited to what Mr. Gomez described as a refresher course and overview.
A second session will be held in Grand Cayman on 8 April. Participants include police officers who will assist outside the polling stations. Training in Cayman Brac will take place on 9 April.
‘A few people are getting iffy as to whether they can commit because there is no firm date yet,’ Mr. Scott commented.
Questions raised in January remain concerns in April because no Referendum Law has yet been passed. One concern is the exact wording of the referendum question so that the Elections Office can arrange for ballots to be designed and printed.
One aspect of arrangements that is not a concern at this stage is the physical organisation of the polling stations. The logistics team can set up within 24 hours, Mr. Gomez said.
‘We don’t have a law, we don’t have a date, we don’t have a question – and we’re well prepared,’ Mr. Gomez summarised.
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