Forming a new Electoral Boundary Commission next year should give Cayman enough time to consider redrawing voting districts before the next scheduled general election in 2029, Premier André Ebanks has said.
Proximity to this year’s general election in April was one of the reasons cited for the rejection of the last report on Cayman’s electoral boundaries.
Responding to a parliamentary question posed by Deputy Leader of the Opposition Kenneth Bryan on 17 Oct., Ebanks said his National Coalition for Caymanians government was committed to requesting Governor Jane Owen appoint a new commission “very early in 2026”, with the aim to have a review of the electoral boundaries completed by the end of that year.
He said this would ensure “adequate time for Parliament’s consideration, and implementation well before the next constitutionally-due general election in 2029”.
The recommendations for redrawing Cayman’s constituencies, completed in 2023, were rejected twice by the previous government, which cited low public engagement in the process, potential confusion among electors and a lack of specific terms of reference, as well as proximity to the 30 April election.
The government had first rejected the commission’s recommendations in July 2024, and again in February this year, fewer than three months before the election.
Ebanks said his government intended to request the governor ensure specific terms of reference would be included when the new commission is formed.
He added that those would be designed to “prevent a re-occurrence of deficiencies identified in the 2023 process; ensure balanced voter distribution across constituencies; strengthen public consultation and civic engagement; and avoid implementation too close to an election”.
The 2023 report by the commission had suggested adjustments to 15 constituencies in West Bay, George Town, North Side, East End and the Sister Islands, as well as two options for Bodden Town – one involving four constituencies (Bodden Town East and West, Newlands and Savannah) as it currently has, and a second with five constituencies.
The commission had also recommended renaming districts with several constituencies by giving them numbers, such as West Bay North becoming West Bay 1, West Bay West becoming West Bay 2, and so on.
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