The beginning of the end for Independents?

Ellio Solomon, George Town	Bo Miller, North Side

Mary Lawrence, Bodden Town	John McLean, East End	Bernie Bush, West Bay

Friday,  May  13, 2005

The clean sweep by the People’s Democratic Movement, (PPM) across the country and the United Democratic Party’s straight vote in West Bay suggest that the party system is now here to stay in the Cayman Islands. The result was not just an emphatic vote for the PPM it could also be regarded as an emphatic vote for the party system.

The election of Moses Kirkconnell an independent candidate on the Sister Islands however conversely indicates that the party system may not have taken a full hold on the country just yet and that the future for independent candidates may not be entirely bleak.

Thirteen independent candidates ran for office in election 2005 and although Mr Kirkconnell was the only successfully returned independent, many of the others made their mark on the political landscape and returned some respectable results. 

While all of the seats on Grand Cayman went to party candidates, some independents polled greater results than candidates running in political groups or alliances, in particular Bernie Bush, who polled 964 votes in West Bay and came in sixth out of a field of 12 candidates. He did however note when the results were announced that, “too many people ran in West Bay, so the voting was messed up.” 

Ellio Solomon ran as an independent in George Town and managed a better result than several candidates standing under a party or alliance banner.

Their good showing however may reflect more on those individuals rather than any future hope for independents as a strong factor in Cayman Government. 

“The positive side of the party system is that voters already know the proposed policies of the new Government,” said Moses Kirkconnell, the successful Sister Islands independent who thinks the next four years will be telling for the future of independents. He noted that Wednesday’s election results might indicate that there already wasn’t really a future for them on Grand Cayman.

“The situation on the Sister Islands is different,” he added. His own decision to run as an Independent Candidate in the last elections was because there are very few registered party members in the Sister Islands.

“If you know your constituents, and none of them are party members, then clearly they were looking for an independent candidate,” he said. ‘On Grand Cayman, whichever district you are from, you still benefit from developments in other districts,” he noted. However, the principal of the party system has to be thought through for Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, because of the uniqueness of being separated by a body of water he said. “Whatever party affiliations that elected members of the Sister Islands have, it’s important that those members work together to get the most for the people of these Islands,” Mr Kirkconnell added.

Sandra Catron who ran in Bodden Town with a very efficient lone campaign illustrated how much an independent could accomplish almost single-handedly but she acknowledged that the unification of a party can be appealing.

“I think that the PPM sweep clearly shows two key things,” said Ms Catron. “Number one - the people wanted a change from what they had. This was told to me over and over again as I did my canvassing.

“ In addition, people seem to have accepted that they wanted a unified coalition going into the Legislative Assembly. This could very well be reflective of the fact that people are fed up with the bickering and are hopeful that a unified team will be able to accomplish that. 

“I fully support the PPM Government in their efforts and will join the cause in bringing the people of the Cayman Islands back together.”

Ellio Solomon who also ran a commendable campaign in George Town noted that the result was about the people wanting a change and they moved the reign from the UDP to the PPM. “I congratulate the newly elected members and recognize the trend but I do not believe this necessarily eliminates other options for the future.”

There are considerable advantages to the party system, not least the fact that the people can vote for a government that has already displayed its intentions rather than a collection of individuals that may or may not work together and who will be forced through a period of horse-trading before a government can be formed.

Whether the system is here to stay however remains an open question but there is no doubt that political parties are now an intrinsic part of Caymanian politics.

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