Voters will have to wait until Election Day 2025 to have their say on the future of the island’s cruise industry, as the cruise berthing referendum will not be held this year as previously expected.
The Ministry of Tourism and Ports, through a media statement late Thursday night, announced that Cabinet had granted approval for the referendum on cruise berthing to be held concurrently with the general election in 2025.
“In addition to this critical infrastructure issue, Cabinet has also granted its approval for the referendum to include two additional questions which have been the subjects of ongoing national debate,” the statement added.
The Compass understands decriminalising small amounts of marijuana, as well as the introduction of a national lottery, are likely to be the two additional topics that would be put to the vote.
In 2022, Members of Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favour of a motion to move forward with a bill to trigger a public referendum into the introduction of a national lottery and the decriminalisation of the use of small amounts of ganja.
Former premier Wayne Panton had indicated a referendum would have been held on both issues; however, it never materialised.
The ministry said that a press conference will be held on Wednesday, 2 Oct. at 11am to provide the public with further details.
The date for the general election, however, has yet to be announced by Premier Juliana O’Connor-Connolly.
West Bay West MP McKeeva Bush, in a widely shared message taken from a pro-cruise WhatsApp group on Wednesday, claimed that there will be “no vote til elections”.
Bush, when contacted for comment on his statement and the referendum announcement, said the “country has to settle these matters now”.
“Millions of dollars are going out of this country – we need that revenue to run all the services that [people] expect and really need. While I don’t hold referendums as a means of making decisions as [the people] elected me to lead, I will listen and campaign to place my vote for the sake of all my people,” he said.
The Compass has reached out to Tourism and Ports Minister Kenneth Bryan for comment and is awaiting a response.
More time to register
Multiple sources familiar with the matter had confirmed to the Compass prior to the announcement that the vote wouldn’t happen this year and that, after discussions, the decision was made to change the date, which would keep costs down as well as allow for more people to get registered to cast their ballots.
The Elections Office had previously confirmed that only those who registered before the 1 July deadline would have been confirmed on the official 1 Oct. electors’ list, which would have been used for the referendum.
Now that the vote is moving to next year, voters can register by 1 Oct. to get on the 1 Jan. official list or by 1 Jan. to get on the 1 April list, which is expected to be used for the general election.
Elections Supervisor Wesley Howell has urged Caymanians to get registered to “make sure you’re ready when it counts”.
“Your vote is your voice, and every eligible Caymanian needs to ensure they are registered to vote. The voters’ list is updated and published four times a year – on 1 January, 1 April, 1 July, and 1 October. These dates are also the deadlines for registering for the next quarter. So, 1 October 2024 is the deadline to be included on the 1 January 2025 voters list. Don’t miss your chance to have a say in our country’s future,” Howell said via email.
April 2025 will mark four years since the last election.
O’Connor-Connolly will have to set an election date for that month or, if she chooses, she can trigger the polls up to two months after the anniversary of the 14 April 2021 election.
There has been no official word on what the premier plans to do.
The Elections Office has been working with 16 April 2025 as the tentative date for local polls based on the 2021 date.
As for the cruise referendum, Cabinet had approved a $1.2 million increase in funding for the Elections Office to hold the vote, previously expected to happen by the end of this year.
Bryan is now expected to pilot a motion at the next sitting of the Parliament, scheduled for 7 Oct., and seek lawmakers’ support to trigger the referendum on cruise berthing in the Cayman Islands.
Parliamentary process continues
Even with the uncertain date, the parliamentary process for the referendum remains the same.
Debate will still be held on the motion, which has already been filed, seeking a resolution from the House that the question “Should the Cayman Islands develop cruise berthing infrastructure?” be declared a matter of national importance.
The motion is also seeking a resolution of the House that the question be specified in a bill and brought by the government to Parliament for debate in accordance with the provisions of Section 69 of the Constitution.
The government motion is expected to be the main focus when the House is called.
When Bryan pilots the motion in the House for the referendum and its question, it will be debated by MPs and then must be passed by the Parliament to authorise a government-initiated referendum.
Once the motion passes, the government will then need to publish a referendum bill to set out the details of the referendum.
The bill will then be subject to a 28-day public consultation process, unless waived by the premier who has the power to deem the matter so urgent that it must forego the consultation period.
The bill would then head to Parliament for debate and a vote.
If lawmakers pass the bill, then a referendum date can be set.
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