Election enquiry continues

| 29/07/2009

(CNS): More than two months after the election, the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) has said they are continuing enquiries into allegations of irregularities at polling stations in George Town, Prospect and West Bay. On the General Election Day a number of reports were made to the Elections Office and the police that some political party volunteers may have been attempting to unduly influence voters. A police spokesperson has told CNS that senior officers from CID are very hopeful of an outcome on these investigations very soon.

No details have been given, however, regarding the enquiries so far and police did not say whether they had any intentions of arresting any of the individuals involved.

The first irregularities which came to light occurred outside the George Town Primary school on the morning of polling day when a number of voters said that they were handed small cards (pictured above) by United Democratic Party representatives before they entered the polling station. The cards listed the names and numbers of the four UDP candidates in that district who were on the ballot paper.

Field agents representing other candidates in the area as well as voters said they had seen the cards, which were the size of a normal business card. Election officials also reported that some voters had gone inside the polling stations holding the cards, and when asked where they came from they indicated that they had just been given the cards by the UDP representatives outside. Allegations were also made by a number of observers that it was the George Town candidates themselves who had given the cards to their representatives at the tent to hand out to voters as they arrived.

Election officials and the police were called to the polling station and the Elections officials established another base by the political representative’s tents to keep an eye on the situation. However, at the time Jonathan Piercy, one of the UDP’s four George Town candidates, said the accusations were merely hearsay and there was no proof that any had been given out by their people on Election Day as the cards had been in circulation for about a week. However, Piercy had told CNS that, if the cards were being given out on Election Day, he accepted that it would be illegal. Later that day, police said that they received reports of similar irregularities at one polling station in Prospect and later in West Bay.

Although candidates from both parties and the independents were allowed by law to havetheir representatives near the polling stations on Election Day, it is illegal to campaign or influence voters in anyway. According to Section 92 (3) of the Elections Law, on polling day candidates are not allowed to publish any printed material which invites or induces the public to vote for a particular candidate or group of candidates and anyone contravening this section is liable to a fine of up to $500 or six months in prison. The question of undue influence, however, could also give rise to a more serious question of whether the vote and ultimately the result would be unfairly influenced.

Following the election in the first sitting of the new parliament on 27 May, Alden McLaughlin, opposition member for George Town, raised the issue and produced one of the cards on the floor of the Legislative Assembly and said he himself had born witness to certain activities which were untoward. “I sat in my car and asked a supporter of ours to attend the UDP tent, where she was handed (this) card with the four UDP candidates and their numbers and she was encouraged to vote for these four,” he said. “This is a pre-printed card, a clear indication of an organised effort to influence voters. We have a duty as candidates … to be sure that this kind of behaviour does not creep in and undermine the election processes.”

He added, however, that he did not believe it necessarily impacted the vote, but the matter was now in the hands of the police and the Elections Office.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Category: Headline News

About the Author ()

Comments (22)

Trackback URL | Comments RSS Feed

  1. Anonymous says:

    Where were the election officials and police while all of this was going on? I at least feel that there should have been officers all around keeping a tight watch. This was sheer neglegence…

    • Anonymous says:

      Supporter misled Alden

      CNS quotes Alden as having stated:

      ""I sat in my car and asked a supporter of ours to attend the UDP tent, where she was handed (this) card with the four UDP candidates and their numbers and she was encouraged to vote for these four,”

      So, Alden didn’t actually get the card, and I bet the supporter can’t be found.

      Sometimes Alden people tell you want to hear; like that "you’re the best lawyer" or "we are definitely voting for PPM". But then they go into the booth and do what is right (vote UDP), or hire another lawyer.

      Better luck next time – and maybe the supporter misled you.

      • Anon E Must says:

        Supporter misled Alden CNS

        Supporter misled Alden

        CNS quotes Alden as having stated:

        ""I sat in my car and asked a supporter of ours to attend the UDP tent, where she was handed (this) card with the four UDP candidates and their numbers and she was encouraged to vote for these four,”

        So, Alden didn’t actually get the card, and I bet the supporter can’t be found.

        Sometimes Alden people tell you want to hear; like that "you’re the best lawyer" or "we are definitely voting for PPM". But then they go into the booth and do what is right (vote UDP), or hire another lawyer.

        Better luck next time – and maybe the supporter misled you.

        Another mindless UDP droan. I have no clue where you summised he does not have the card or know who the person was. The picture is possibly the card hence the words "this" card or did you miss that. Next thing is do you not think for one second he knew who he was asking? You think he would just ask anyone to go do it. He found someone he knew and asked them to do it.

        God. Where were you when brains were handed out. It’s there in black and white for you.

        WOW. All I have to say is WOW. Mindless droans!!!! No ability to think on their own. Big Mac does the thinking even for his voters. We knew he did it for all his team but the supporters also. A new high for even him.

    • Anon E Must says:

      Where were the

      Where were the election officials and police while all of this was going on? I at least feel that there should have been officers all around keeping a tight watch. This was sheer neglegence…

       

      I agree. This is why when I saw Mr. Gomez saying this was asmooth election I was wondering which planet I was on.  If it was at one location it would be bad enough but it was being done at multiple locations. So at atleast two locations we had complete and utter breakdown.

  2. KiKi says:

    How about focusing on investigating and solving the numerous unsolved murder cases??!!

    Who cares about the piece of paper!? If the UDP candidates are going to be penalised for this then lets look into the PPM soliciting on voting day. Just before going to the ballot, I was personally told by one PPM candidate to remember them when I go and put my X down, he even went on to say that he had some drinks but I could only have some if I voted PPM! 

    Please people! Both parties do what they do best….politrick! So lets stop wasting time and precious resources and start redirecting our energy towards solving murder cases and bringing our national debt down!! 

    • Anon E Must says:

      How about focusing on

      How about focusing on investigating and solvingthe numerous unsolved murder cases??!!

      Who cares about the piece of paper!? If the UDP candidates are going to be penalised for this then lets look into the PPM soliciting on voting day. Just before going to the ballot, I was personally told by one PPM candidate to remember them when I go and put my X down, he even went on to say that he had some drinks but I could only have some if I voted PPM! 

      Please people! Both parties do what they do best….politrick! So lets stop wasting time and precious resources and start redirecting our energy towards solving murder cases and bringing our national debt down!! 

      God it’s really pointless to talk to you people.

      It’s black and white people. One team broke not just a law but LAWS and the other team didn’t. Speaking to people and saying give me a vote is not illegal on any day of the elections. Look it up if you don’t believe me. At the same time look up the printing issue and you will find YUP that is illegal.

      Same with BT. Clear as crystal. File your paperwork before X date or you are not eligible to be seated.

      You guys are just silly stupid on the whole thing. You tell us to ooh look the otherway because it’s a "minor technical thing". NO IT IS NOT. IT IS CALLED THE LAW!!!!

      Next time I will come break into your house and rob you and tell you ooh it’s just a minor technical thing. Next time I will get my hands on your check book and forge your signature because well it’s just a minor technical thing.

      When we start letting the people who rule our country break our laws in front of us and the whoe world things will start to go bad. If they are breaking laws before they even get a seat imagine what will happen when they get access to money and power.

      You UDP mindless droans are scary. You can not for one second step back from your love of a person to ask yourself if something is right or wrong and what is the possible ramifications of going down this road. What precidents are we setting for others who might have far more devious intentions?

      Seems UDP really went to the bottom of the barrel to find some of you guys.

      You see I am able to see good and bad in people no matter what party they represent because I remain objective and focussed on what is good for Cayman not who does it.

      I will say this straight off. While I believe that Big Mac is BLOWING UP the numbers to make PPM look really bad I do believe PPM put us in a rather bad position. That is thetruth. Are we better off with UDP in instead of PPM, well not sure I will rule on that as yet because we haven’t even finished year 1 as yet.

      I completely and utterly disagree with Big Mac on the Pirates Week. He will do severe damage to the Cayman Islands with this. My opinion is supported by 70% of the Cayman Islands just look at any survey ever done on this. Heritage Day or what ever name you want to call it will CRASH and BURN because NO ONE IN THIER RIGHT MIND COMES 1,000 MILES SPENDING $2,000 TO SEE US MAKE THATCH ROPE. NO ONE!!!!

      Now where I do agree with him is this:

      1) The agreements. I am happy to see him agressive on the agreements. He should give credit to PPM for setting a table for him even though he pulled the strings.

      2) The cruise ship berthings. Really good idea. I feel we need this and we have to get pass our COMPLETELY Christian ideologies to make us survive.

      Our next step should be to create a national lottery or sanction the numbers in a format that brings the government money. Have them have to get license to operate or set it up yourself. If you are not going to stop the darn thing make some money off of it is all I am saying.

      • Chuck says:

        "Speaking to people and saying give me a vote is not illegal on any day of the election"

        Another mindless droan…….."it is illegal to campaign or influence voters in anyway."

        • Anon E Must says:

          "Speaking to people and

          "Speaking to people and saying give me a vote is not illegal on any day of the election"

          Another mindless droan…….."it is illegal to campaign or influence voters in anyway."

          I actually suggest you do some reading.  No where in the law does it state this. If you can find it please quote me exactly where so I can read this also.

           

  3. Anonymous says:

    Right is right and wrong is wrong!! If this had been the PPM candidates and supporters of the PPM government doing this McKeeva Bush himself would have been up in arms and shooting off his mouth to anyone who would listen!

    UDP candidates and supporters should be ashamed of themselves, but that is just what you would expect from that bunch! Ihope they persue this to the fullest extent of the law and I pray to God that justice will prevail and these dispicable people will get exactly what they deserve!

  4. Anonymous says:

    I absolutely agree that this “police enquiry” is a waste of time. As far as I can see, ever since the election and this new government has been in place there seems to have been nothing but a complete disregard of the law as they see fit.

    I cannot fathom how anyone could have been swayed by these flyers, but anyway… Persons should have had their minds made up from the night before as to who they were going to vote for. If anyone is THAT naïve to let a piece of paper with a bunch of names on it influence them, is it any wonder that the UDP in back in control?

  5. Anonymous says:

    CUC report?

    While we hear nothing on CUC, there appears to be a constant crying about the allegations of these flyers being distributed on Election day.

    If a little research was done, it would be realised that section 92(4) of the Elections Law states:

    "Nothing contained in subsection (1), (2), or (3) [the sections that generally prohibit distribution of advertisements etcetera on polling day] shall be deemed to extend to the furnishing or supplying of any banner bearing only the name of any candidate, or only such name preceded by the words "vote for".

    Now, lets see an article on CUC and the $74M crisis that the PPM has put the Cayman Islands in.

  6. durrrr says:

    Does anyone really think these cards actually influenced anyone? I know there’s a few dummies around the place, but c’mon?

     

    Instead of worrying about which Civil Servants to lay off http://www.caymannewsservice.com/headline-news/2009/07/28/civil-servants-fight-jobs how about unna stop wasting money on foolishness like this?

    • Anon E Must says:

      Does anyone really think

      Does anyone really think these cards actually influenced anyone? I know there’s a few dummies around the place, but c’mon?

       

      Instead of worrying about which Civil Servants to lay off http://www.caymannewsservice.com/headline-news/2009/07/28/civil-servants-fight-jobs how about unna stop wasting money on foolishness like this?

      Spoken like a true UDP person. Is this a candidate or just a supporter?

      As long as you keep trying to cheat the system the law should be right there to woop your butts back in line.

      Your guys are not above the law. And they and all that comes after them need to know this.

    • Anonymous says:

      Anyone who belives this should not be investigated and pursued, deserves what is coming next, and that is mass corruption, poverty and the Cayman Islands sinking into the reality of a Banana Republic. If the allegations are true, this has to be made public and pursued. An issue as serious as Election tampering is not something that Cayman needs right now, we are trying to show the rest of the world that we are a law abiding, civilised, and stable society. Not a society that allows an excempt few to by-pass the law.

       

  7. Anonymous says:

    This will be another 3 year investigation with wasted money and then they will say they don’t have enough proof. What more do they need?

    At least let’s not waste the money on the investigation!

    • Anon E Must says:

      This will be another 3 year

      This will be another 3 year investigation with wasted money and then they will say they don’t have enough proof. What more do they need?

      At least let’s not waste the money on the investigation!

      I could careless what you think. You see I see past the simple politics to what can become. The fact that UDP chose this road is there own darn fault. YES an investigation. It needs to be done. And when confirmed they need to push for the hardest of punishments possible.

      They have proof what are you talking about. They have eye witnesses and copies of the cards how much more proof do you need? The only thing missing is them handing one out to the head of the elections office in the presence of a police officer. And by the way the eye witnesses are not just one but numerous.

      Again it’s not if it affected the vote but just the mere fact that they did this. They and all that come after need to know that the law must be followed explicitly or the results will not be good for them.

       

      NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW!!!! NO ONE!!!!

      • Anonymous says:

        I believe the right expreession is: "I couldn’t care less" not what you wrote. However, I see this time and time again so obviously there are a lot of people who get it wrong.

        • Anonymous says:

          Election is over.

          Can the PPM please explain this to their supporters.

           

        • Anonymous says:

          So, the witness if Alden McLaughlin!

          What a joke – this might explain why the Police are taking so long – the PPM ought to have used a witness that isn’t so directly involved to make these claims.

          Please Alden, lucy & alfo lost. full stop.

  8. Anon E Must says:

    About time we heard something about this.

    I want this to blow up just because we need to have these things exposed becaus ethe next step is dead people voting and all kinds of crazy things such as rigged ballots.

    I hope it goes so far as to be considered seriously for causing undue influence whether it impacted the vote or not. It’s the principal of the matter.

    I would simulate it to someone attempting to rob a store at gun point but the cashier had no money. Should the robber be punished? OF COURSE he should. It does not matter whether they acheived their objective or not just that they broke the law and should pay a hefty price and I am not talking about CI$500 or 6 months in jail. I mean a hefty fine. They already got CI$9K from government already so what did they loose?

    I believe personally they should be booted from the elections. People who break the law should not be sitting in our highest offices of government. Same I say for BT same I say for GT. Same I say for PPM and same I say for UDP. The law is all we have people. We see what happens when countries allow their laws to be trampled. You think things are bad NOW. Just let this kind of attitude towards our laws continue.

    I would say this. If you are a criminal and you see your politicians thinking that the contitution is a "minor technical thing" or that they can go in direct contrivention of the election laws by printing and distributing coersive material then why would I care about the laws myself?

    To me it’s like a parent drinking, smoking or doing drugs. You set the example for us the children.

    • A Concerned Caymanian says:

      In response to "About time we heard something" I agree with your post and such unethical practices should not be condoned by the people of these islands.  I say if this is true of the GT UDP candidates they should be automatically disqualified!  May God be with our country if this is what we have to look forward to in politics…

  9. backstroke says:

    The card did not impact the vote, the people were fed up and they spoke, the same message will go to this government if they play with the people like the PPM did, so be on the watch UDP