Cayman’s National Coalition For Caymanians government-elect will be sworn in this afternoon, with former North Side MP Ezzard Miller being nominated as speaker.
Led by André Ebanks, the 11 politicians will officially take their seats for the first time as NCFC government members in the House of Parliament, and will be sworn in by Governor Jane Owen in a ceremony that is slated to start at 2pm.
After releasing a photograph Monday of the new government members, along with Miller, in a church, Ebanks confirmed to the Compass that the veteran politician, who had served as an elected representative in the House for 20 years, will be nominated to be speaker.
Miller spent several years as chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, and is widely considered to have a very in-depth knowledge of the procedures and the workings of Parliament, including its Standing Orders – the written rules which regulate the proceedings of the House.
Preparing to take their seats
Following a long night of extended poll counting, the final results of the 2025 general election were announced shortly before 3:30am on Thursday, 1 May, with The Caymanian Community Party and the Cayman Islands National Party winning four seats each. On Friday evening, the parties announced three independents were joining them – giving them a majority of 11 in the 19-seat Parliament – and had approached the governor to inform her they were ready to form a government.
According to a TCCP press release on Monday, the new members have already been to Parliament – on Friday. They were given a guided tour and “a brief orientation” by staff, and also took time for a photo opportunity.
The group announced its new name on Saturday at a public meeting in West Bay, noting that ‘National’ stood for the Cayman Islands National Party, ‘Coalition’ for the independents that joined following the election, and ‘Caymanians’ representing the hallmark of The Caymanian Community Party.
Inside the parliamentary chamber today, the elected members will be sworn in. This will then be followed by the election of speaker, deputy speaker and premier.
Afterwards, the governor will conduct a separate ceremony outside the House for the swearing in of the premier, deputy premier, the ministers and members of Cabinet.
Ministerial roles
In Tuesday’s TCCP statement, the party noted, “While a broad framework for the new government has been developed, ministerial assignments and portfolio responsibilities will be finalized later this week and official announcement will be done in due course.”
The Compass understands that a number of portfolios have already been provisionally agreed upon. These include Rolston Anglin, one of the independents who joined the coalition, taking the education and finance ministries; Gary Rutty taking tourism and transport; Katherine Ebanks-Wilks resuming leadership of the Ministry of Sustainability as well as health and wellness; and Nickolas DaCosta taking on home affairs and district administration.
Michael Myles is expected to be given responsibility for immigration, while André Ebanks, as well as being premier, is likely to retain the financial services portfolio he held for most of his time as part of the last administration.
The Compass also understands that the other two independents who joined the coalition are being given ministerial positions, with Jay Ebanks likely to keep the Ministry of Planning and Infrastructure, and Isaac Rankine retaining the youth and sports portfolio.
It appears likely that Wayne Panton, Heather Bodden and Julie Hunter will serve as ministerial councillors in the new administration.
Preparations for the swearing-in ceremony were already under way in front of the House of Parliament on Monday afternoon, with tents being put in place and roads being closed
From 6pm Monday until 6pm today, Fort Street is closed between Seafarers Way and Mary Street, and Edward Street is closed between Mary Street and Dr. Roy’s Drive.
Members of the public can attend the swearing-in event in person, or watch the proceedings live online at Compass TV or at Digicel channel 9, Logic channel 22, C3 channel 22 and FLOW channel 102, as well as on Cayman Compass.
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