Learning lessons from the chaotic aftermath of the last election, a winning group of independents and two new political parties came together swiftly and decisively following the 2025 General Election.
The results may have taken until after 4am the morning after the polls closed to count, but by the same evening Cayman had a new government.
This time there was no back and forth. Cayman’s two newest political parties, the Cayman Islands National Party (CINP) and The Caymanian Community Party (TCCP) quickly partnered up. And discussions in North Side with a group of three independents – Jay Ebanks, Isaac Rankine and Rolston Anglin – led to a new coalition.
André Ebanks, the leader of TCCP, was selected as premier with Gary Rutty, of the CINP, serving as his deputy and all three independents taking Cabinet seats.
Despite winning the most seats of any one party in Parliament, the People’s Progressive Movement was relegated to four more years of opposition.
Ebanks was sworn-in less than a week after the polls closed, a vindication of the gamble he and four other members of the previous coalition government took to resign their posts in late 2024 and form a new party.
Speaking on inauguration day he said the coalition members had been “selfless” and focused on ensuring calm amid the chaos.
“In less than 24 hours, a government can be formed without a large argument, without large debate, without huge horse-trading, for the benefit of the people of the Cayman Islands.”
Eager to avoid the uncertainty and division that plagued the last four years – which saw three different coalitions rise and fall under two premiers – the new group sought to codify their alliance through a signed coalition agreement.
The document committed the newly named National Coalition for Caymanians to a set of shared principles that they hope will serve as the glue that keeps them together through the next four years.
“The NCFC Coalition Agreement sets out our core values, decision-making processes, conflict resolution framework and more, to give the Caymanian people confidence in responsible, accountable leadership,” the group said in a statement after the agreement was signed in October.
The coalition’s ambitions were outlined in the Strategic Policy Statement followed by a two-year budget in late 2026.
The group has so far made immigration reform a priority and sought to balance the budget – amid rising civil service personnel costs – through new revenue measures, including stamp duty hikes and new business fees.
The budget also increased borrowing to help fund new road development and other infrastructure priorities.
Despite the disparate platforms of the constituent parts of the coalition, there has been relative harmony so far as the 11-member government has enjoyed a honeymoon period, getting its budget passed with few hiccups and moving quickly on immigration reform.
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