Petition for one man, one vote passes 3000 names

| 22/03/2012

ballot box hand.jpg(CNS): Organisers of the petition to trigger a people initiated referendum on one man, one vote say they are about to make history with their efforts to collect signatures from registered voters. They now have more than 3000 names on the official petition and anticipate that they will easily reach the 3800 names required to trigger the national ballot well before the end of April. Alva Suckoo one of the leaders of the campaign backing the petition launched by MLAs Ezzard Miller and Arden McLean said he had no doubt that in the end the petition would ensure that Cayman adopted a democratic and fair voting system.

"I am extremely pleased with the response to the petition so far,” said Suckoo. “We are currently witnessing history in the making and I have no doubt that the end result will be the adoption of a political system that guarantees greater equality, accountability and voter participation. We still have a target to make and I encourage everyone to make sure they do not miss the opportunity to sign the petition. This petition is helping to preserve democracy and proper representation for all of our people."

Aside from  going door to door volunteers have also been collecting signatures at key public locations such as the local supermarkets and outside the post office in downtown George town several shops also have copies of petition books and there are dozens of people ready and able to go out and meet people who want to sign, Suckoo added.
The local activists will be handing the petition over to the governor once they have the full 3800 signatures required under the constitution to trigger a people’s referendum. 

However, they intend to carry on collecting signatures in an effort to persuade the premier to introduce the one man, one vote system without the need for a referendum in time for the May 2013 elections.

Mckeeva Bush has already stated publicly that he will hold a referendum on the topic at the same time as the general election next year but not in November as is requested in the petition.

This means there will be legal wrangling over the issue and if the petitioners fail to win their case for a November 2012 referendum the next election will still be held under the multi-member constituency system. With three extra seats at the next ballot it could mean electors in George Town will be casting up to six votes, giving them a disproportionate influence on the make-up of the national government compared to residents of other districts.

Government has not yet passed the necessary legislation to add the three new seats ahead of the next election as set down in the Cayman Islands 2009 constitution. He had however indicated his preference for adding two seats to George Town and one to Bodden Town as recommended by the boundary commission in relation to the population.

He has however since indicated that he agrees that having six seats in George Town was too much and hinted about, although did not commit to, adding one of the extra two seats in the capital to his own constituency of West Bay.

To do so however, would as was indicated by the opposition leader be a blatant case of gerrymandering – the practice of manipulating election districts or constituencies in order to influence the results of an election.

Alden McLaughlin recently noted that the population of West Bay did not justify further seats when he also called on the premier to waive the need for a referendum and adopt single member constituencies and one man one vote for the 2013 national vote.

Ezzard Miller told CNS this week that the petition had been enjoying enormous success going house to house as the volunteers had been widely welcomed into people’s homes where they were more comfortable listening to the argument for the more democratic system than in public forums.

“The time is right the people want this and the premier needs to do the right thing,’ he said.

Anyone wishing to sign the petition can contact any of the following:

Al Suckoo Jr                        916-1689              alva.suckoo@gmail.com
Johann Moxam                                                 jmoxam@hotmail.com
Noel March                        916-1429              ntmarch@hotmail.com
Chris Goddard                   928-6534              sportnzone@candw.ky
Betyann Duty                    916-1494              bettyann.duty@hotmail.com
Kent McTaggart                928-3449              kent@spscayman.com
Bo Miller                              916-0003              miller.bo@gmail.com
Sharon Roulstone            516-0220              cayshay@hotmail.com
Marco Archer                    939-7474              msarcher@candw.ky
Bryan Ebanks                     916-3048            
Edward Caudeiron           916-0157              terrycaudeiron@hotmail.com
Terry Caudeiron               916-7895              terrycadeiron@hotmail.com
Ezzard Miller                      327-5757              ezyhealth@telecayman.ky
Arden McLean                  916-0630              arden@candw.ky
Woody Da Costa               916-2470              woodyd@candw.ky
Gregg Anderson               916-6777            
Alden McLaughlin            916-3153
PPM Office                         945-8292              ppm@candw.ky

Petition books are also available to sig at Four Winds Esso in West Bay, Walkers Road Texaco, in George Town, Pinnacle Condos on 7MB, as well as the Book Nook and Hobbies and Books.
             

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  1. Anonymous says:

    What about Cayman Brac and Little Cayman?  I don't see any information anywhere regarding signing a petition here.

  2. Anonymous says:

    This might be a dumb question but how can I become a registered voter? I'm a young Caymanian returning from overseas and I didn't vote during the last election, not expecting Mac&Co. to be revoted in.  This time I will be heard!

    I also don't want to sign the petition without being registered…Mac will probably spend public money on a thousand man hours researching the credibility of each individual signor!

    – – – – – Sigh

     

     

  3. Anonymous says:

    How can Caymanians working abroad get this signed?

  4. Anonymous says:

    "One man one vote" is terrible! Why is Cayman always so backward? Women should be able to vote too!

  5. Anonymous says:

    And, so what? Sign all you want, you cannot sign away our lovely Primier. 

  6. Anonymous says:

    They are doing very well but they still need more registered voters to sign.

    If you have not had a chance to sign, please get it signed quickly.  Make it a priority today.  Don't put off for tomorrow, what you can do today!

    Keep up the good work Cayman!!

  7. nauticalone says:

    Excellent job all involved!

    I too would like to encourage all to sign ASAP.

    • Anonymous says:

      this poster is not signing anything or voting for any party. The reason is that as an non-indiginous Caymanian I am not treated equally by both politicians and certain business places in the islands where certain beneits are concerned and in job applications and complaints to certain bodies. Why should they want my vote if they bash me and people from my country of birth? As I am speaking now ,you could guess which country it is, dont you?

      We need to ensure equal rights for all. Why should I vote and as soon as the new Government come into office the same thing start over again. They can get along without my participation so thats alright.

      • Anonymous says:

        If you are a non-indigenous Caymanian then you are most likely treated better than indigenous Caymanians.

        Anyway the petition is not about voting for any politician or party; it is about voting for the principle of one man, one vote, i.e. equal voting rights.     

  8. Peanuts says:

    The smart thing for bush to do is throw in the towel and call ellections THIS november 2012. He would save the bother of the Referndum and the Country could vote them out a year early.

    • Anonymous says:

      Have you ever heard of bush doing anything smart?

    • Anonymous says:

      Peanut

      It is obvious that you want to through out Mac from his seat. Is this the full and true reason behind this referandom…one man one vote? you come across with hatred for the Premier.

      What i see here is our repersentitive, again setting up the citizen of this country, to further split us apart. why didnt they do their job, and write the damn one man one vote in stone, when they amended the Constituation in 2009.

      They only use us when it is to their advantage. how many of us they invite to the round table to help mold this country…none.

      Now they want to expose our nameson paper to show the UDP who is voting against them. it's just another way of polling the people.

      3,000 and they need 7,000 why do you think it is taking so long,  to gather the right amount of votes?

      Dont get me wrong, Im very much for the one man, one vote  but i dont see why i should have to sign a referandom to get it.

      England recommended it for our modernised and advanced constituation, we should have done it then. That is all i have to say.

      • Anonymous says:

        You should know by know that the reason one man one vote is not in the constitution is because the UDP did not want it and the PPM wanted the UDP's support for the Constitution. Bad move on the PPM's part. However, it is a poor argument to say that it should have been done then so we won't do it now.

        Support for one man one vote is not split along party lines. Many prominent UDP supporters are in favour of it while some PPM supporters question it. It is well supported by Independents. Signing the petition does not indicate your support or lack of support for any political party. In any event you would be exercising your democratic right and you should be free to do so without fear. If we are too afraid to do that in this country then God help us. 

        The petition needs only 3,800 signatories. The target date for that is 30 April. It has already covered 80% of that with 5+ weeks to go so it is progressing very nicely and is virtually certain to meet the goal. However, if we got 7,600 signatories (50% of the electorate) there would be no need to have a referendum as the wishes of the people will have been clearly expressed and the govt. should at that point introduce it. 

        You're right. You shouldn't have to sign a referendum to get one man one vote. The UDP govt. could simply pass a law that introduces it for the next election. However, given that the Premier is dead set against it the only way to force the matter is to have a referendum and the only way to get a referendum is to sign the petition.    

  9. Peter Milburn says:

    I would like to add my further support for this petition and ask all those registered voters to get the facts weigh them and then make up your minds as to supporting this endeavour.(or not as is your democratic right)Its time to make a serious change in the way our country is run and this is the answer and the right way to go.For those of you who are not sure ask questions of the folks sitting and asking for your signature and all the contacts are listed above so you can call and ask your questions.Lets make sure that we force this referendum into being long before the next election because if we leave it til that time we could be faced with another 4 years of what we are faced with today.CAYMAN ITS YOUR CALL!!!!.

  10. Anonymous says:

    Why vote for one “man” to represent you? Surely in this age of democracy, my vote should be used to select all of the government elected members who are representing me.

    • And then says:

      Which one will you hold accountable? Can you imagine the mess that would create ? 18 MLA's who are able to duck and hide behind each other! One Man One Vote brings greater accountability, your 1 representative is responsible for keeping a smaller number fo constituents happy and in the end if he or she cannot do the job you know who to replace!

       

      • been there done that says:

        one man one  vote does not guarantee good representation.politician will still have to come together to form the government ,and your rep may end up getting no where; even with the best of his or her intentions.he or she will have to choose sides to get anything done.he /she may be like a voice in the wilderness,so to me it doesn't  changes anything.but i like the concept.

    • Anonymous says:

      In "this age of democracy" as far as I know what you propose does not exist anywhere. And for good reason. Most often voters have one or two persons that they think really deserve their votes and do not make well-considered decisions about casting the remaining votes. If that is the case where there are 2-4 votes it would exponentially worse if there were 18 votes. Also, the voting process would be much longer than it is presently.    

  11. Anonymous says:

    What about Cayman Brac-Little Cayman??????

  12. Anonymous says:

    Many of the signatures from the "Women to Vote" 'petition' were lost over the years. Save these, irrgardless of your opinion on the question.

     

  13. Anonymous says:

    Ezzard, Arden, Sukoo and all the people who have signed and will sign; I have one thing to say…………

    GET HER DONE!!!!!!!

  14. Anonymous says:

    Kudos to everyone who have signed the petition and to the organizers of the petition for making this possible.  I would like to encourage all qualified persons who have not signed the petition, to do so as soon as possible.  I know we easily can reach 7,000 signatures Cayman! Let's go Cayman, lets go…….

  15. Anonymous says:

    Excellent! That means we have already achieved 79% of the goal at half time.

  16. Anonymous says:

    CNS – or one of those organising this petition – would you please re-post the information on where we can sign. There are many Caymanian students who also voters who are currently overseas for university studies and will be home for Easter. I know from Facebook that a lot want to sign the petition but don't know how or where.

     

    CNS: Yes, we've added the list of contacts and some locations to the story but watch out for volunteers at the local supermarkets and outside the GT post office as well.