“The ‘ayes’ have it,” Speaker Katherine Ebanks-Wilks announced just after 8pm Tuesday, confirming that a majority of MPs that cast a vote, had done so in favour of a motion of no confidence in the PACT government.
The vote went 8-7 in favour of the Opposition-led motion, with two government ministers – André Ebanks and Juliana O’Connor-Connolly – and the Opposition’s Chris Saunders opting to abstain.
In situations like this, the constitution requires a special majority of two-thirds of the MPs to back the motion in order for the premier and government to be ousted from office.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the ayes have it but the motion has failed,” Ebanks-Wilks clarified in the aftermath of the vote.
How they voted
- YES: Roy McTaggart, Joey Hew, Dwayne Seymour, McKeeva Bush, Moses Kirkconnell, Barbara Conolly, Alden McLaughlin, David Wight
- NO: Wayne Panton, Kenneth Bryan, Sabrina Turner, Jay Ebanks, Bernie Bush, Heather Bodden, Isaac Rankine
- ABSTAIN: André Ebanks, Chris Saunders, Juliana O’Connor-Connolly
The result allows PACT to continue in government but it has no functional majority and Parliament is effectively paralysed, with government’s ability to pass legislation, including the crucial upcoming budget bill, in doubt. Even calling a meeting of the House is dependent on the cooperation of the Opposition.
The result, while not immediately fatal, would appear to deal a hammer blow to Panton’s leadership of the crumbling PACT coalition. There may be some hope for the group, however, in that its former Deputy Premier Chris Saunders – now an independent on the Opposition side – also abstained, declining to vote against his former colleagues after securing cooperation over the passage of a pensions bill.
Following the announcement of the vote, both groups immediately retreated to their respective corners. Every option that was on the table prior to Tuesday’s vote is still on the table and, as of this time, Cayman has a hung parliament barring further moves.
Minister explains why he abstained
After a day of fiery speeches – and public entreaties from opposition MPs for disaffected PACT members to join them in a new coalition – the most dramatic twist was left to the last when Financial Services Minster André Ebanks publicly indicated he would be abstaining.
Ebanks said he had been energised by the “noble cause” of the PACT coalition and its emphasis on attention to grassroots issues.
But he acknowledged there were times when the group had fallen short in terms of “respect, professional conduct and collaboration”.
He accepted that comments made earlier by former Premier Sir Alden McLaughlin that civil servants were “more stressed than they have ever been” were accurate. He also accepted that there were times when Cabinet seemed to be at “battle with itself”, even on the floor of the House for all to see, something he described as “unprecedented”.
Ebanks said he was abstaining this time but was prepared to do his bit to help the group get through its current crisis. But he insisted PACT should look internally and reform itself.
“Let’s come together,” he said, “we have the ideas, we have the heart we need to improve our culture.”
And he insisted he was prepared to resign if PACT could not commit to reviving itself and “exceeding expectations”.
Back to square one?
Opposition Leader Roy McTaggart, immediately following the vote, told the Compass that the results meant there were effectively 11 votes against the premier.
“The majority of this Parliament has declared their lack of confidence in him as leader. I don’t understand why he is so intransigent and not recognising that the tide has turned against him in this Parliament and that he needs to step aside and let some other government emerge out of the ashes, if that is possible, or we go to an early election,” he said.
McTaggart said he does not believe that an early election is in the best interest of the country.
“We are no further ahead today,” he said. “At the end of the day, after 10 hours of debate, we’re no further ahead with resolving the issue because he has indicated an unwillingness to resign or step aside.”
Ebanks was one of only three members on the government side to speak on the motion, brought by McTaggart.
Health Minister Sabrina Turner gave a powerful speech in support of Panton and PACT, while Panton himself defended government’s record and insisted PACT had options to stay in power.
All of the other Cabinet ministers remained silent. Juliana O’Connor-Connolly, rumoured to be Panton’s main rival for the leadership, abstained from the vote.
10 Green Bottles
McTaggart had opened the debate by insisting Panton had “run out of road” and had to step down – with either a Progressives-led coalition or a new formulation of PACT under a new leader in place.
Panton urged his fellow MPs to “respect democracy” and allow his government the chance to finalise its budget. He insisted the divisions within PACT were exaggerated and that the group was “serving the people well”.
He added his belief that there were options for PACT to continue despite the seemingly problematic parliamentary maths.
He added, “Their description is of a government that can’t move forward. Well, we do have options. If it turns out we don’t have an option, we will have to deal with it at that time.”
McLaughlin ridiculed Panton’s speech, using the children’s song ‘Green Bottles’ to describe how the PACT coalition was failing apart.
He said there were only nine left and that meant that the numbers added up to a hung parliament.
“The issue is that the government is in a constitutional crisis and the premier is in denial. Unless he has 10 [members] sat over there, he has no quorum, let alone the ability to get anything passed.”
Both McLaughlin and another former premier, McKeeva Bush, whose decision to withdraw his support from the PACT group triggered the latest crisis, encouraged government members to join them in a ‘government of national unity’.
Bush indicated his issue was with the premier and his leadership rather than ministers on the PACT benches who he said were working to make things better.
Saunders, in his speech during the debate, had called for government to amend the Pension Bill, allowing people to raid their pension funds as the cost of living continues to rise. He said if government agreed to address this, it would be instrumental in how he voted on the motion. Panton, in his speech, agreed that the pension legislation was a priority that would be dealt with.
Speaking to the Compass after the debate, Saunders stood by his decision to abstain, saying that he was “not in the business of tearing down Caymanians” and he was able to achieve progress for his constituents by withholding his vote.
“One of the things that is very important to me is getting the pension through which is one of the things that we were able to get some agreement on.”
Saunders added that, at the end of the day, the Opposition was not going to get the 13 votes they needed; however, he believed that his abstention was able to get movement on issues that were affecting the people.
“My people are hurting, and my main objective is to do what I can do to get some money in some people’s pockets. That’s what it is that I’m about.”
- Additional reporting by Norma Connolly and Reshma Ragoonath
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