Governor’s Statement on Cruise Port Petition Verification
20 June 2019
Issued by: Governor’s Office
Contact:
His Excellency The Governor, Martyn Roper OBE has issued the following statement concerning the process to verify the signatures on the cruise port petition:
“I am aware of the concerns that have been expressed about the comprehensive process being followed to verify the signatures on the petition which was presented to the Elections Commissioner by Cruise Port Referendum Cayman (CPR Cayman). I can assure everyone that Cabinet has no role whatsoever in the verification process, which remains the sole responsibility of Mr Howell, who reports to me and in whom I have full confidence. This is the first time in Cayman’s history that we have been on the verge of a People’s Initiated Referendum. We need to ensure that we get the process right. There can be no shortcuts to democracy. To provide clear and unambiguous proof that the signatures on the petition are valid will provide a solid base for what will follow and help to protect the process from any potential legal challenge in the future. Mr Howell and his team will carry out this exercise as quickly as possible and will try to make it as easy for everyone to verify their signatures as they can. He will take independent decisions based on appropriate legal advice and will also have access to advice from the UK’s Electoral Commission going forward. My office and I will help to oversee the process and ensure there is no interference in the important task that Mr Howell is undertaking. We now need to let him get on with the task and respect his independence.”
Elections Office Receives People Initiated Referendum Petition
14-Jun-2019
The Cayman Islands Elections Office met with the Cruise Port Referendum group yesterday (Wednesday, 12 June 2019 ) to officially accept the People Initiated Referendum petition signatures.
The handover took place at 2 p.m. outside of the Election Office.
Elections Office Supervisor, Wesley Howell, along with Deputy Supervisors Suzanne Bothwell and Sheena Glasgow, were given the documents by leaders with the Cruise Port Referendum group. Head of the Governor’s Office, Matthew Forbes, was also present to accept a copy of the documents on behalf of the Governor.
The Elections Office staff will now analyse and collate the names of petitions and conduct an independent verification of the document’s signatures.
The door to door process will commence in approximately two weeks, however, persons are able to immediately visit the Elections Office to complete the verification process during regular office hours.
Over the next two weeks, the Elections Office will review the petition and organise the signatures based on districts and households; as well as ensure on boarded staff members are adequately trained to carry out the official process.
Various methods will be used to confirm that the level of signatures meets or exceeds the required 25% (5,289) of persons registered as electors (21,155) in accordance with section 90 of the constitution.
Pursuant to the Cayman Islands Constitution Order 2009, the first step in the verification process is to ensure the provided referendum signatures correspond with the current electoral register.
Manual checks with petitioners will also be conducted by Elections Office officials to ensure signature validity.
As part of the aim to ensure the procedure is as fair, transparent and efficient as possible, relevant persons are encouraged to contact the Elections Office to assist in the verification of the signatures.
Petition signers visit the Elections Office during regular office hours with their voter ID card or any other form of official identification, to verify in person to confirm their signature. Extended opening hours will be announced later.
Elections Office staff members will also make themselves available at various public locations throughout the Island. Details around this will be made public once finalised.
Mr. Wesley Howell strongly urges all electors who signed the petition to ensure their correct place of residence is registered with the Elections Office.
“Under the law, all persons must maintain updated registration details with the Elections Office,” he explained. “With this referendum process, and an upcoming election year, it is vital that these details are kept accurate.”
Mr. Howell concluded: “As we move forward, the Elections Office is fully committed to ensuring this process is as fair, accurate and transparent as possible. We will work expeditiously to conclude this verification process.”
The Elections Office is located on the second floor of Smith Road Centre in George Town, and can be contacted at (345) 949-8047 or by email at
Office hours are Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
General Elections Progress Update
26-Feb-2016
George Town, Cayman Islands, 2016 – The Elections Office continues preparations for General Elections under the nineteen single member constituency system in the areas of legislative amendment recommendations, voter registration, voter education, allocation of voters to single member districts and logistical resourcing for the elections.
Legislative Amendment recommendations
The Nineteen Single Member Electoral Districts Boundaries Order of 2015, gazetted in November 2015, calls each nineteen electoral districts to be represented in the Legislative Assembly by one elected member. The order comes into force on next dissolution of the Legislative Assembly, therefore the Elections Office has therefore given priority to recommendations for legislative amendments to bring the Elections Law into agreement with the order. The first draft of the of recommendations were presented recently presented to Caucus and it is expected that these recommendations will receive cabinet approval for drafting during the coming weeks.
Voter registration
New Year’s Eve 2016 is the scheduled deadline for voter registration for the list of Electors which will be used for the May 2017 General Elections. The Elections Office plans to extended registration until February 3rd 2017. Registration officers will continue to register electors until that time, including special registration drives at public events. Social media programmes initiated by the Elections Office is helping to reach these unregistered voters.
Readiness of Personnel, Financial and other resources
The Elections Office plans to execute general elections on a four-year cycle and the Elections Office has begun to ramp up staffing for training, logistics, and assignments in advance of the 2017 General Elections. There is always a possibility that one or more seat may become vacant outside of the four-year cycle, and therefore the Elections office maintains a state of readiness at all times. If necessary, the Office can call on staff experienced staff in delivering elections, ranging in skill set from returning officers to field clerks, this allows the office to meet the constitutional requirements to deliver a by-election or General Elections. Financial requirements for running the General Elections have been submitted as part of the 2016 to 2017 eighteen-month budget
Boundaries of the 19 Single Member Electoral districts.
The 2003 Electoral Boundaries Commission was tasked with recommending the boundaries of seventeen electoral constituencies, with each constituency returning one member to the Legislative Assembly. The seventeen boundaries were accepted by the LA, and were implemented as 17 polling divisions, however, the voting system maintained the multi-member voting within traditional districts. The 2009 Constitution increased the number of members in the Legislative Assembly to eighteen while the seventeen polling division boundaries and multi-member constituencies remained. The nineteen single member constituency boundaries recommended by the 2015 electoral boundaries common, have some similarities with the 2003 boundaries, with the major changes limited to boundaries in the western part of Bodden town and the eastern part of George Town.
# # #
If you would like more information about this topic, please email