Opposition leader: What’s the hurry?
“The Constitution states that a simple change in the law is all that’s needed to create single-member constituencies,” Mr. McLaughlin said Wednesday. “The PPM [People’s Progressive Movement] has promised that it will adopt ‘one man, one vote’ if it is put back in government. So why do we need a referendum on it six months before the general election?”
Asked if this statement meant he thought the PPM would be back in government by May 2013, Mr. McLaughlin said: “I don’t know who’s going to get in there, but it won’t be (Premier) McKeeva (Bush).”
The Legislative Assembly last year considered a private members’ motion to adopt the ‘one man, one vote’ principle. It was defeated on a party-line vote. Mr. Bush’s United Democratic Party does not support single-member districts.
Supporters of the ‘one man, one vote’ petition, which began circulating the Cayman Islands on Monday, have admittedly set an ambitious timeline for the public vote on whether Cayman should move its current district voting system to single-member constituencies.
North Side MLA Ezzard Miller and East End MLA Arden McLean have said they hope to get 5,000 signatures on a petition by April and turn it in to Cabinet. The petition calls for a referendum on the subject no later than 30 November, 2012. If that referendum is approved by 50 per cent-plus one of all registered voters – somewhere around 7,500 people in the Cayman Islands – 16 single-member districts on Grand Cayman and two on the Sister Islands would be in place by the May 2013 vote.
“We need to do it by November so that this current government cannot claim that it does not have time to arrange the 16 constituencies [on Grand Cayman],” Mr. Miller said Thursday.
Mr. McLaughlin said there would be less than six months between 30 November and the general election in May 2013. Even though the 2010 Electoral Boundary Commission drew up and identified the 16 voting districts on Grand Cayman that would be utilised if the territory went to single member districts, Mr. McLaughlin said it would still be a matter of organising and educating voters as to where they needed to go and what ‘one man, one vote’ means.
“I’m just not sure there’s enough time,” Mr. McLaughlin said.
Premier Bush has also pointed to the cost of holding such a public vote outside of the normal general election cycle. Mr. Miller estimated the cost of holding a November referendum at around $250,000, but estimates in 2008 for a Constitutional referendum – initially proposed to be held before the 2009 general election – were somewhere around $1 million.
Mr. Bush has also said the cost of running single-member voting districts would be higher and he’s not convinced people want it.
“There was recently a petition calling for single-member constituencies that got less than 500 signatures,” Mr. Bush said late last year.
Winning elections
The Cayman Islands voting districts require electors to vote anywhere between one and four times, depending on how many representatives they send to the Legislative Assembly. Right now, George Town and West Bay residents vote four times, Bodden Towners three times, Sister Islands residents two times and North Side and East Enders once.
When the 2013 general election comes around, there will be three new seats in the Legislative Assembly.; two more in George Town and one more in Bodden Town.
Although Mr. Miller believes the current set up is unfair – because it essentially allows George Town residents six votes to North Siders’ one – he’s not certain changing the voting requirements will change Cayman’s political landscape.
“This doesn’t have that much to do with winning the election,” he said. “I don’t think that going to single-member constituencies is going to have any major impact on the political parties. It may have an impact on the ability of a charismatic and popular leader to get other people elected.”
Mr. McLaughlin agrees that “there is some truth” in those statements. He also believes the single-member districts are simply a fairer system. He also said the change to smaller representative districts might save lawmakers a few grey hairs.
“It’s a much easier job because there [are] much fewer people you have to represent,” he said.
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If I understand this process, Ezzard believes getting the number to force a referendum which when passed would enable 1 person 1 vote to work for the next election. Obviously Ezzard doesn’t understand the complexities of drawing the district lines coming from North Side. Even in this small island there is much involved in this process as it is very political in nature. Then having candidates to run in each of the designated districts. Do they need to live in the district that they will run in? This is not as simple as Ezzard suggests.
To Panama Jack: it ain’t all that complicated. Good luck running in a district where you don’t live.
Mr. McLaughlin, it’s nice to be; concerned about anything regarding where we are headed politically.
But you have been dragging your foot way too long and therefore Ezzard is leading the opposition from behind.
I think your questioning this move of Mr. Miller and Mr. McLean is simply to save face since it really should be you leading this referendum to ensure that another UDP government is never elected in the Cayman Islands. It is the right thing to do. You must support Mr. Miller as he is supporting the PPM and opposing the government likewise.
One Man One Vote is the way to go.