One of the People’s Progressive Movement’s proposals for the new constitution is that Grand Cayman move to single-member constituencies.
Under the proposal, each voter in Grand Cayman’s 15 constituencies would only vote for one candidate.
What is curious is that the PPM government is not proposing the same thing for Cayman Brac and Little Cayman. Instead they propose to have the Sister Islands remain a single constituency, sending two members to Parliament. Each voter, however, would only have one vote and the two candidates who receive the greatest number of votes would be elected.
Although we believe one-person, one vote is the fairest election system, we do not believe the PPM’s proposal for the Sister Islands is a wise path to follow.
For one thing, we’re not sure what the justification is for singling out the Sister Islands for special treatment on this matter. We understand that residents of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman don’t wish to be split apart into two constituencies, but people in Bodden Town, George Town or West Bay probably have similar feelings. Certainly one district of the island should not be handled differently than others.
In addition, we believe the Elections Office’s task is hard enough without giving it a two-system election to deal with.
However, probably most importantly, we believe the PPM’s proposal could lead to people being elected that the vast majority of people might not want representing them.
For example, if a popular candidate running in the Sister Islands gains a large majority of the votes from the electorate there, the second member elected to the Parliament might get there with a very small percentage of votes.
As of 1 January 2008, there were 888 registered voters in Cayman Brac and Little Cayman. Assuming 90 per cent of them voted in an election that was held today, only 800 votes would be cast. If one very popular candidate was able to get 75 per cent – or 600 – of those votes, it would leave only 200 votes for all the rest of the candidates.
Seven people stood for election in the Sister Islands in the 2005 election. If an election held today brought the same number of candidates and the scenario mentioned above played out, 200 votes would be spread out over six candidates. It is wholly conceivable then that a person who gathered less than 100 votes could be elected to Parliament.
This could lead to a candidate popular with a special interest group – perhaps from association with a club or large group of friends or family – getting elected, even though the majority of voters wouldn’t have made him or her their second choice. That outcome might not be good for this country.
If the Cayman Islands is going to have one-person, one vote, it needs to be right across the board, including the Sister Islands.
If a popular candidate running in the Sister Islands gains a large majority of the votes from the electorate there, the second member elected to the Parliament might get therewith a very small percentage of votes.
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