Former cabinet minister Osbourne Bodden remains in the 2025 election race despite a technical issue raised over the validity of his nomination as a candidate.
Bodden, a candidate for The Caymanian Community Party in Bodden Town West, was nominated by an elector who was not officially registered in the district.
Election officials confirmed Saturday that the oversight – which was missed on Nomination Day – had been brought to its attention.
However, since the matter was not noticed on the day itself, officials say there is no means within the law for the supervisor of elections to intervene at this point.
To be nominated as a candidate in the general election, an individual must meet the eligibility criteria set out in the Constitution and submit a completed nomination form signed by at least two registered voters from the constituency in which the candidate plans to run – in this case, Bodden Town West.
One of Bodden’s nominators – Ruth Williams – was registered in Prospect, as per the official list of electors in use on Nomination Day in March.
“The nominator was not technically a Bodden Town West elector at the time of nomination,” the Elections Office said in a press release Saturday morning. “The Returning Officers did not detect this fact at the time the nomination paper was received.”
While Williams is on the revised list of electors as a voter in the Bodden Town West district, that list will not become official until 1 April.
That means that she will vote in the district on Election Day, but did not technically meet the criteria for Nomination Day.
The discrepancy raised questions over the legitimacy of Bodden’s candidacy in his three-horse race against independent Chris Saunders and Cayman Islands National Party candidate Haymond Rankin.
However, the Elections Office release indicated its scope to intervene is limited at this point.
“The Election Act, in section 29A, provides for a legal mechanism for the Supervisor of Elections to seek a declaration from the Grand Court regarding the qualification or disqualification of the Candidate. However, section 29A does not apply to the qualifications of the nominator,” it said.
Bodden himself meets all the criteria set out in the Constitution to be a candidate and therefore remains in the race, the release adds.
Although the Elections Office says Bodden remains in the race under the Constitution, the decision has raised questions about the purpose of the nomination process and the precedent this decision sets for future elections.
Bodden, in a statement following the release from the Elections Office, accused his opponents of spreading a ‘falsehood’ that he was no longer a candidate in the election.
“They can feel the people of Bodden Town West are voting for change and this makes them nervous,” he said. “When they spread these falsehoods, it reflects on them and their lack of integrity. The people can and will judge them accordingly.”
Saunders, the incumbent MP in the district who is running as an independent, said he was unconcerned by the matter.
If an error was made in the nominations process, he said, it should have been raised with Bodden on the day, giving him time to find another nominator.
“I honestly think this is a non-issue. The people should have their say,” he added.
PPM leader Joey Hew said the issue was a matter for the Elections Office and he hoped it would look at it closely.
The Cayman Islands National Party was not immediately available for comment.
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