As Cayman’s Electoral Boundary Commission embarks on its second round of public consultations, its members are appealing for greater participation as voters in at least 15 constituencies could be impacted by proposed changes to the lines for parliamentary seats.
If the changes are accepted, some voters may find themselves casting ballots in a new constituency in Bodden Town, commission chairman Lisa Handley suggested.
“We are actually putting out a recommended map which maintains the 19-seat Parliament and we are also putting out an alternative map that suggests adding a seat… to Bodden Town. If we kept the four constituencies, all of the constituencies are very vastly overpopulated and if we had five seats there, we could draw districts that fell within international standards,” she explained.
The redrawing of lines and creation of a new constituency falls to Parliament to effect when the commission’s final report is presented to lawmakers and Governor Jane Owen.
Voter input needed
However, commission members agree it is critical to have Caymanians weigh in on the make-up of the constituencies.
Commission member Steve McField pleaded for Caymanians to show more interest in their electoral process as the new lines, if accepted by Parliament, will impact all but four of the existing 19 constituencies.
This plea came as he reflected on the poor turnout during the first round of public consultations the commission held.
“I think overall Caymanians are not very educated politically. Caymanians are already in the dark about things like this. There are not too many people that understand the Constitution and how is it interpreted and I don’t think a lot of people understand what the boundary commission’s report will mean,” he said Tuesday, in an interview with the Cayman Compass.
McField said that he knows that the community is focused on issues like mortgage rates and cost of living, but the electoral process is also important for both adults and young people.
“I would like to see civic courses taught in high schools and at other colleges. I think that’s one place where we are falling down,” he said.
As for the boundary changes, he said while the commission was happy with the review and the recommendations, they were disappointed with the poor turnouts at the consultations that started the process, with only a few people showing up to offer input.
“It seems that people are not interested in something as constitutionally important as boundary commission inquiries and review,” he contended. However, he and the other commission members remain hopeful this current round of consultations starting 4 July will yield better results.
With proposed maps released online, commission member Adriannie Webb said the community can have its say on what the lines will look like.
At the first meetings, the public asked “a lot of questions” about the electoral maps, Webb said, but noted that “was way too early” because the process had not yet begun. But now, she is hoping “there’ll be a lot more interest”, adding that the maps are available on the Elections Office website.
“Hopefully they’ll go and look at them and also come out to the meetings and let us have their input,” she said.
Lines redrawn to match growth in constituencies
The three-member commission, Handley said, focused on a “great deal of population growth and shifting in the Cayman Islands” as they reviewed the existing boundary lines.
In so doing, she said, the commission is attempting to adjust the boundaries of the constituencies to recognise these population shifts because the Cayman Islands adopted single-member districts.
Handley said the commission had to work within the traditional electoral districts when looking at the lines that were being drawn and balance the composition with international standards.
She said though there was an initial suggestion to amalgamate the North Side and East End constituencies, that is not being recommended.
“North Side and East End will [remain] separate constituencies. It is also the case that two constituencies up in West Bay will not change because the population has not shifted. They both are within say, 2% of what would be called the… quota of the perfect population given the total population in Grand Cayman and the 17 districts that would be drawn within Grand Cayman,” she said.
The latest consultation meeting, set for Tuesday, 4 July, in West Bay, was to focus on changes in that electoral district.
On Thursday evening, the commissioners will present the changes they are recommending for the George Town constituencies at the George Town Public Library.
McField said for some seats, MPs will lose voters while other MPs will gain some.
He explained that the commission had to shift lines between George Town North and George Town Central, between George Town East and Red Bay, and between Bodden Town West and Bodden Town East, noting that “now Bodden Town East borders onto the districts of North Side and East End”.
While McField acknowledged that Caymanians speak through the ballot boxes, he said matters like the boundary changes also need voter input as that directly affects where they will exercise their franchise.
The final consultation meeting will be held on Thursday at the Theoline L. McCoy Primary School and will focus on changes to the Bodden Town, North Side and East End electoral districts.
The meetings begin at 7pm.
At the end of the consultations, Handley said the final report will be completed and presented to Parliament to decide whether they will accept the recommendations and effect the proposed changes.
There is no set timeline for this to be done.
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