Fresh
off what he has claimed as a victory in the ‘one man, one vote’ referendum,
Cayman Islands Premier McKeeva Bush has proposed “continuing the discussion” on
the country’s voting system.
During
a broadcast address to the country Thursday night, Mr. Bush said he would form
a “bipartisan group” to study the merits and demerits of an alternative voting
system.
The
system, as described by Mr. Bush, would create eight electoral districts on
Grand Cayman – all with roughly the same number of votes and returning two
members each to the Legislative Assembly. Under Mr. Bush’s proposal Cayman Brac
and Little Cayman would maintain the same voting system.
“This
would be in line with the principles of equality and fairness for voters in
Grand Cayman as advocated by the one man, one vote committee but without the
dangerous elements of single-member constituencies,” Mr. Bush said.
The
premier conceded that this plan would be just one way to address any “perceived
absence of equality”.
Right
now, Grand Cayman has five voting districts which – as of the 2013 general
elections – will return anywhere from six to one MLAs to the assembly.
“Let
us continue the dialogue on improving our electoral system to make it one that
our descendants will be proud of and thankful for,” he said.
In a statement released Friday afternoon, Opposition Leader Alden McLaughlin seemed unimpressed with Premier Bush's proposal.
"This is not what Caymanians said they want this past Wednesday," Mr. McLaughlin said. "Voters said by a significant majority that they want single-member constituencies and I call on the Premier and his government to respect the voice of the people and move swiftly to implement single-member constituencies for the Cayman Islands in time for the General Elections in May.
"We do not need more discussions, we do not need more committees, we do not need more campaigning or another referendum. All that is required is a simple amendment to the Elections Law. Come on Mr. Premier, you know what is right. You know what the people want. Just do it."