A special meeting of Parliament has been called for Tuesday to debate a motion of no-confidence in the government.
The meeting was triggered after all nine members of the Opposition, now comprising six Progressives and three independent MPs, signed a letter to the Speaker, which was hand-delivered by Joey Hew, deputy leader of the group Friday evening.
The letter conspicuously included the name of current Deputy Premier Juliana O’Connor-Connolly and an empty space for her signature, implying the group had hoped she would join them in the motion.
Officially, the rival groups still remain locked at 9-9, with McKeeva Bush’s decision to withdraw his support for the PACT coalition, Thursday, leaving Parliament deadlocked.
If O’Connor-Connolly were to switch sides, the Progressives-led coalition would hold sway. However, the Constitution requires the support of a two-thirds majority of the House to depose a sitting government.
Hew, who presented the documents with party leader Roy McTaggart off island, told the Compass he was hopeful that the motion would be a success and that Cayman will have a new government by next week.
“We’re confident that we have members of the government who are willing to support us in the motion and we will see. We’re requesting the meeting for next week.
“At that point, persons will have to declare where their allegiance lies,” he said in an interview with the Cayman Compass Friday.
Another alternative – if the motion does not carry and the House remains split – would be for the governor to call a general election.
The Progressives made their move Friday after the expiry of a “deadline” they had issued for Panton to step down as premier, following Bush’s announcement.
The PACT group, meanwhile, was in discussions throughout the day in an effort to shore up their coalition, with numerous alternate leadership options understood to have been discussed.
It remains an option for them to ask Speaker Katherine Ebanks-Wilks to stand down and rejoin the government benches, with an unelected Speaker being nominated as the presiding officer. However, it is unclear if she is willing to take that step and the move would, nonetheless, depend on O’Connor-Connolly remaining on the government side.
Panton released a statement Friday afternoon saying he believed the PACT group was still the best option to lead the country.
McTaggart: ‘We are carrying out our duty’
McTaggart issued a statement late Friday, saying that “it is our duty as representatives of our people to act to restore stable and effective government to these Islands. We are carrying out that duty”.
On Friday, Hew delivered the letter summoning the special meeting to House Speaker Ebanks-Wilks, as well as filing the no-confidence motion.
Ebanks-Wilks confirmed that meeting will be held Tuesday at 10am, as requested in the letter signed by all Progressive Opposition members as well as Bush, Bodden Town West MP Chris Saunders and Bodden Town East MP Dwayne Seymour.
Education Minister Juliana O’Connor-Connolly’s name appears on the letter requesting the special meeting, but her signature isn’t included.
Saunders, when contacted for comment on his decision to sign the letter, said it was a necessary step as the country needed closure on the matter.
“The economy needs confidence and certainty” he said, adding that the entire situation has been “very concerning for many Caymanians”.
He said when he was contacted by McTaggart to call the special meeting, he said he had to say yes because the Parliament floor was deadlocked and that could not continue.
Hew defended Friday’s action, saying it was for the good of the country.
“We have a pending budget, we’re in the middle of November, the budget has to be passed by the end of December or the country will certainly come to a screeching halt. So this has to happen, this is our duty as the Opposition,” Hew said.
Lawmakers received notice of the special meeting late Friday evening.
Among the reasons McTaggart cited for the no-confidence motion was that the government is without a parliamentary quorum and can only hold a meeting of the House and conduct the country’s business if at least one member of the Opposition is in attendance.
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