Obligation missing in vote law
(CNS): The opposition leader has accused the government of hijacking the referendum on one man, one vote (OMOV) as well as not actually making a commitment to the result. After receiving the draft bill for the referendum law, which will be presented to the Legislative Assembly when in returns next month, Alden McLaughlin said it provides no obligation on government to actually implement OMOV even if that is what the people vote for. The PPM leader also said it was highly unusual for government to launch an immediate attack on its own referendum and he intended to speak with the governor about the use of public funds to campaign against the principle of OMOV.
McLaughlin accused government of stacking the odds against its own question and said there were a number of issues with the bill, from the question itself to the failure of the government to make polling day a public holiday.
“There is a major problem that the government is campaigning against its own referendum question and using public funds to do so,” he said.
The question proposed on the draft bill, he noted, did not commit the government to implementing the actual system, even if the vote was an overwhelming ‘yes’. In addition, the bar was set as high as a people-initiated referendum, despite now being a government initiated vote.
“What the government has done in this case is hijack the people-initiated petition process, hijack the entire initiative and have taken it over," he said, adding that it was done so deliberately to ensure the government had control of the process, taking the “steam out of the petition”.
Government, he said, had announced the date and proposed the question but then immediately launched a “full frontal assault on their own question” under the guise of what they called an "education campaign".
He said the government campaign was designed to defeat the referendum question using public money. “That is highly inappropriate and we shall be taking steps to address this issue with the governor, the deputy governor and the Elections Office,” he said. “We cannot have the UDP using the office of government and the Treasury of government to campaign against a referendum question it has put forward, having taking the initiative away from the people.”
McLaughlin pointed out that a people’s initiated referendum (and the petition has now exceeded the necessary number to trigger that constitutional right) was an indication of a desire on the part of the people for the ballot and in such circumstances the government would take a neutral position or embark on an education campaign that would look at both sides, not one campaigning against the question that the people want asked and answered.
See the draft referendum bill here
Category: Politics
QUESTION: Since the One Man One Vote will require a majority of registered voters in order to pass rather than a majority of those who actually vote, then is it true that by not voting at all, a person is automatically counted as a "No" vote?
In other words, if you are against OMOV you don't need to go to the poll on July 18th to vote "No". And further more, only those who do go to vote will automatically be for OMOV. The ballot should only have a large "yes" box on it since the "no vote" is made simply by not casting a vote. Not only is this unfair, it appears to be a further attempt by the government to thwart this referendum which they claim to support. What is even worse about this method is that if a citizen is for OMOV an fails to cast their vote, it will automatically be counted as a "No" vote. This is why it is so very importantfor those who support OMOV to cast their vote either by mail or in person. Doing nothing in this case works against you.
So if you are against OMOV and show up to vote" "no", then you are a bigger idiot than those who made the voting rules and will get everything you deserve in the end. Those who show up to vote "no" are unaware of the wool the government is pulling over their eyes.
SUMMARY: NOT VOTING IS COUNTED AS A "NO" VOTE. IF YOU ARE FOR OMOV, MAKE SURE YOU VOTE!
CNS: I've posted this a s new forum topic Here.
The only One-Man-One-Vote arrangement McKeeva Bush will favor is the one in place now: where he is the man and only he gets to "vote".
If our Premier were not a Christian man and were not the opposition so jealous of his accomplishments none of this would be happening. Our Premier is a hero to all true Caymanians and will surely be named a National Hero shortly after he returns to our Saviour. Without McKeeva the Cayman Islands would be nothing. Ezzard and Alden know that and want him out so they can take over. Don't be fooled Cayman! All Christian good Caymanians need to stand up and stand behind our Godly leaders and the UDP!
Re the third paragraph. About govrnment spending I asked the last Governor if it was right for public money to be spent promoting the then (PPM) governments wishes on constitution reform? If he had chosen an independent body informing us of the implications of change and discussing pros and cons we might not be in this mess now. And remember less than half the voting public voted for the constitution change. It is good that the majority of registered voters will decided this time.
God help us if our premier were not a Christian man.
Sorry, we can't stand behind our Godly leaders and the UDP as well.
You mean he wouldn't have sent that fax if it weren't for the opposition? You're obviously on the honor roll at the Mac school of blame the PPM.
When he returns to our saviour he will definitely be placed in charge of hell.
Cayman wont be fooled, we assure you. Not anymore we won't.
It's amazing the effect a mere two million can have on good christian folks.
National hero? Maybe. He's definitely setting some astounding records. First Cayman leader ever with three simultaneous criminal investigations?
ONLY Cayman leader ever with ANY criminal investigations?
Lady!
It is blasphemous to try and intertwine God in this, in the way that you have been doing…
Please stop it or you might end up sending yourself straight to the bottom of hell!
Although you will have good company there…
You'vebeen deceived, my friend, horribly deceived, like thousands of innocent Caymanians. Our sincerest condolences on the demise of your dearly beloved.
Hey UDP Supporter,
What happens to Christians if they are convicted of criminal offences?
Do Christian people:
1) always put themselves first?
2) squander huge amounts of money through their own ridiculous decisions forcing others to clean up their mess?
3) always hide the truth?
4) tell more lies than Pinnochio?
5) blame someone else for everything and take no repsonsibility?
6) break all law and every law because of who they are?
Just wondering if we are talking about the same person here who you want to be a National Christian Hero, because i dont see it as good thing portraying to the world that you worship a Thieving Pirate.
The meeting for OMOV at the Reliable Center for next Monday to educate us. Please answer this one question for me. Yuh going to have food there?
We the people need to do whatever is necessary to make this referendum binding and effective for the 2013 general election.
One Man One Vote is such a unifying issue for this country.
Most agree that it is only fair, right and just for one person to have one vote.
We will go out and vote yes on July 18, 2012 for a more fair and equitable electoral system.
We the people need to stop the PPM from pulling the wool over our eyes. They bspent a lot of money educating so they say on the constitutional referendum and nw are saying that he present administration should not spend money on the process before s, this indeed bis the height of hypocrisy and Alden we are not sleeping. Mind ya don’t get a shocking surprise again. You know what happened in 2009. Say no more.
My my, you have the wool over your eyes and you don't even know who put it there.
they should put it in Septemeber when everyone is back from summer break and make that day a publc holiday, The UDP want it in July and on a work day that way alot of people cannot show, that is unfair and DOOM TO FAIL! KEKE want the advantage that is why he's doing it this way. XXXX
CNS, you should print the comments that the Chamber of Commerce made with regards to the OMOV, they covered both sides of the argument and it was issued to educate without slanting it in any direction, that gives people at least something to think about and talk about
All the people of these islands ned to do is look at the Turks and Caicos thats all Alden and Ezzard are trying to do is make us the way the Turks islands are
Open your eyes Cayman neither one is good for the Goverment.
How many Caymanians will suffer after the Premiere steps down/
Alden u were in the Goverment before so was Ezzard
Are you really that daft to think like that. What happend in Turks is opposite of what Alden and Ezzard are doing. If the people in Turks had stood up and took action before the corruption was so rampant, Turks would not be in the position they are in. Alden and Ezzard are trying to prevent another Turks disaster the UDP is the one heading in the wrong direction.
The UDP are the ones turning this place in Turks and Caicos Episode 2. Alden and Ezzard are trying to avoid it, by taking proactive action. Get it now, dummy?
In a true democracy, each voter casts only one vote for a candidate. Anything else is stuffing the ballot box , which is illegal in most civilized countries.
We are not asking Mr Bush to step down, because this is all about the One MAN One Vote.
Sorry that most of you cannot see it. However if you read the documentabove . OBLIGATION MISSING IN VOTE LAW. Read through the lines and see what all the campaign to have McKeeva out of office is about? It is about this One Man One Vote and nothing else. Caymanians you are beign led to slaughter blind folded about this One Man one Vote.
What gibberish.
Perhaps before we have a referendum on whether we should move to single member constituences, we should have one on whether the Premier and the entire Cabinet should step down???
The trouble is that Bush & Co will hijack it and turn into a govt-initiated referendum and set the threshold at 90% of all voters.
what a circus.
Actually it's a war between darkness and light. which one do you think will win?
Alden is right on this situation and I'm glad he is taking it to the Governor and if he don't make it right then he is supporting Mac.
There is a silver lining here which everyone should be aware of. McKeeva can put whatever he wants into the referendum law. The numbers will still speak for themselves. If he wants 50% of the electorate and then puts no obligation to carry the result through into the law, then it does not actually matter whether we get 50% of the electorate. If we get 50% of those voting, we can call that a success and still say it represents the will of the people which he must implement. As long as we get 50% of those voting, we have as much a mandate for OMOV as Mac did to take office. That's a considerable weapon.
I should add for the sake of clarity that even if there is an obligation to carry the result through into law, there is no such thing as a (valid) law preventing something from ever happening. One Parliament can not bind another. So the Legislative Assembly could not be in breach of one of its own laws in passing a new law, say to implement OMOV even if the referendum is negative. So as long as we get Mac out of office, we will have OMOV one way or the other, by 2018 at least.
Anon 13:09
Can you say who made these constitutional laws?. plese, at the same time, let the people know Mac cannot do anything out side the highest law of the land.
These laws were all put intothe Constituaion by the PPM Government…I dont blame Mac one bit, for using them. We are the clowns they all play us to be. you people are just getting stressed out for nothing. Try to understand the law. Mac is no fool. He is within the law.
Now I see the reason why the PPM is so hell bent on getting McKeeva to step down before July. It is the referendum. You never see smoke without fire.
Caymanians and expatriate Caymanians BE CAREFUL. Do you think you are having problems with McKeeva Bush, then just wait and see. A dark day in hell when he is not running this country.
Contrary to popular belief, voting in favour of OMOV doesn't automatically imply your going to, or have to vote for either the UDP or the PPM in the next election. They won't be the only options ! Get your head out of your rear end and think for once…….OMOV is NOT a PARTY issue.
I not PPM but I want to see Mac step down. He hurting Cayman.
It is a dark day in hell now that he is running the country. We need a breath of fresh air and SUNSHINE.
So the Opposition staged an announcement by the Governor and the Police Commissioner that Mckeeva is under three separate investigations so they could get to call for his resignation so that they could improve the chances of the referendum? LOL. Do you people listen to yourselves?
The sheer stupidity of UDP supporters is mind boggling. I am not a supporter of any of the government ministers, its the same circus it has always been since i was born here 32yrs ago. Fresh blood is the key, plain and simple.
Because the UDP supporters clearly have their heads in the sand I am going to try and explain this to you as simply as I can. Try take a step back from a neutral point of view and look at the situation this way;
We as a county are one of the most looked at financial centers in the world by larger countries such as the US, UK and Euope. Why? Because we are tax free. What does that mean? Lots of people invest their money here instead of their own countries. Understand? We are supposed to have economic stability, good laws and regulations, stable government, no taxes, top class service providers etc etc which bodes very well for a top financial center. People feel safe putting their money here.
Now the "big wigs" in US, UK etc think we are still a place where you can walk into a bank with a bag full of money and deposit it without anyone asking where it came from. Those days are gone. Why? Becasue we are a successful financial center in the world that has to abide by things called laws and regulations.
Now imagine you are a big wig from the UK / US who sees that our leader is under investigation for corruption / bribery. Not even that, he is under 3 seperate investigations, as announced by Lord B, the Governor and Commissiner of Police, not by the PPM. Furthermore, our leader enters into a deal with none other than the CHEC, who themselves have been found guilty numerous times around the world for guess what? Bribing government officials!!! Do you see anything wrong with that? I am not saying our leader has done anything, but it does not look good to the outside world. Get it? Our leader follows no proper procurement processes, he does not abide by written laws, he circumvents transparency (which he loves to use, not sure why), he does whatever he wants, he is being investigated.
What do you think they are all thinking? What do you think people who invest their monies here are thinking? What do you the financial services industry is thinking?
Our ship issinking fast and things like this will f&*king drown us. Businesses will leave here for they feel their money isnt safe. Investors will pull out. Residents will return to their home countries. And then the UK will step in like T&C.
So i ask you from a neutral standpoint whether it is in the best interests of this country that our leader remains where he is?
The PPM gave full airing of others views, they answered questions honestly and in good faith, they invited a UK expert out here to explain everything to people, they invited the UDP to London, they facilitated them by allowing them to bring Elio although he was a representative of no one, they compromised to get it done, and ultimately it was money well spent because the people approved the Constitution. You know, like a government operates. If the UDP had not taken advantage of the PPM's professionalism and good faith by torpedoing OMOV at the constitutional negotiations, none of this would be necessary. It just goes to show you they represent – every society has one – the slimy, nasty, self-interested, anti-intellectual, bad faith side. The PPM and the UDP are the light and dark of humanity respectively.
Referenda are supposed to be democracy in its ideal form – direct democracy. You use them to record the conscience of the people. That conscience has to be fairly expressed to be a valid result. Mac just wants a NO vote by hook or crook so he can tell the UK Cayman doesn't support it, and wave it in the PPM's face about how they couldn't get their petition through.
Did you actually go to any of the Constitution modernisation meetings? Because if you think that they represented an unbiased airing of multiple views, you must wear PPM red to bed every night. People were told what was best for them in the most arrogant of ways. When some people expressed opposing views, they were met with derision and intimidation. Not that I think the UDP should now do the same thing, but please don't try to put the PPM on some pedistal. They used those meeting to push their agenda, plain and simple.
Everyone is invited to join us and do the same. Turn up at the OMOV meeting next Monday night at 6pm. It will be in Reliable's conference room unless we announce otherwise.
Cayman people can't be satisfied can they? I mean, seems to me that this is the start of the Opposition's education campaign. And people are already on here criticizing them saying that they should start an education campaign – it is obvious to me that that is what they intend to do because they are already pointing out the flaws in the bill by beginning in this forum.
Besides that – the Premier and his UDP government have at their berth are MISUSING public funds to encourage voters to not turn up to vote or to vote "no" on their own referendum question! A question which doesn't even bind the government to DO anything even if the referendum is passed!
We should be attacking the UDP's attempt to further disenfranchise the people of these islands and not attacking the people who are trying to inform us about what the UDP government is doing to us.
Anon 11:48
These same PPM had the opportunity to fix all this mess in 2009 when they speraheaded the amended /revised constituation.
What ever you see UDP doing now is all part of the plans PPM made for themselves….thinking they were going to return as leaders…they don't fool me, don't let them fool you. Ask yourself one question, why didnt PPM write these laws in stone when they had the opportunity to? now we the people are left out on a limb. I leave you with that.
Hey 04:59,
Worse than being fooled by the PPM is being bought / sold by the UDP.
Might be time to open up your eyes.
The UDP and PPM need to get the F**K out the kitchen.
End of story.
You mean the PPM fooled us into providing education facilities and roads and a Government administration building for our country while the UDP bought us with fridges and then sold our birthrights to Mr Dart? We definitely agree the UDP is worse. By the way, the foul language really is uncalled for.
Now Alden, isn't this a bit onesided? When the PPM was campaigning for the constitution to be implemented did YOUR Govt not put together a committee to educate the public on this and was it not at the cost of public. Is it not within the right of Govt now to educate the public on OMOV so that they can be fully aware of what this entails and not just one side of the story? I for one want to hear the pros and the cons of the whole thing and what it would mean to me before I vote for anything. We have heard why we should vote for it, isn't it time we hear why we shouldn't so we can make an informed decision? Just my thoughts!
There is a huge difference between educating the public so that they make an informed decision and launching a campaign against a referendum at the public's expense. IF and that is a BIG IF, the UDP Govt actually fairly state both sides, it is fine to use public money. If they only state why this is not a good idea, then they should use their own money. The wording of the question is an indication of what they will do. Using the phrase "only" one vote, makes people think that they will be losing something. It is obvious from the start that the UDP hope that people will vote against it.
Alden, Ezzard, Arden,
Use common sense and launch your own campaign to debrief the people on any brainwashing on our people by the UDO during their campaign against the One Man One Vote. There are many people out there that are still ignorant and are listening to people like the Jordanian and the Jamaican lady who doesn't understand the democratic process but wants to educate everyone.
It is you the opposition's r esponsibility to educate everyone on how the process works and why they should sign the petition. You have got to work this yourselves, not sit back blabering on Rooster thinking everyone is listening to you. That's now reality.
Get out there in the trenches and see this thing through.
Erm….I think this is part/the beginning of the strategy for the education program to counter Mac's miseducation program.
Ok Alden,
The Minister Mr Billinger was here, why didn't you get his support on how you think
the process should work? You waited until he leaves to address this most important issue with us?
Good grief! I thought this was at least No. 1 on your list of items to discuss with the OT minister.
Mind you, Big Mac will strike back , people are vindictive and they do seek retribution.
Don't take anything for granted.
What makes you think they didn't discuss this with him?
I'm not concluding that they didn't discuss this with Mr. Billingham, its just that the opposition needs to carefully word all press releases showcasing their strength while making these kinds of public statements. They need to demonstrate in front of the naysayers complete confidence in what they are doing no matter what the UDP dishes out.
I just hope when next general election come, people think twice before voting in a party candidate. Luckily, if we did not vote for an Independent candidate such as Ezzard Miller, I don't know where we would be today! West Bayers and Bodden Towners, can once again follow the Pied Pipers flute like rats for the drowning water, "vote straight" they sang all the way, and didn't even give a thought of the individual candidates character. How so foolish! I recommend people vote in people that they personally know to be of good and sound character. I recommend that they refrain from not using their God-given intelligence to be caught up by political propaganda and a personality contest. I beckoned all to stick to the issues and stop the celebrity junk from politics. Use their common sense and put in people that – 1. They know for a fact they are of good and sound character; 2. That they have a good plan of boosting the economy; and 3. That they are very transparent with their finances, assets, and political goals. Please stop putting in politicians that don't even have a visionor political platform where they stand! Are candidates running for personal gain or do they love their country? You can be so dumb again when 2013 comes and put in a UDP, PPM, or some other party network. For a house that is full of INDEPENDENTS, is a house that is full of INDEPENDENT THINKERS… and not followers. Remember I tell you all today!!! M.R.
If the government let the opposition decide the question to be asked, the date for the vote, the public awareness campaign and in short, let them run the entire referendum process, I still don't think that they would be satisified.
There are a lot of people who want this referendum to be successful. Do not assume that they are all opposition supporters. Many non-political people are involved. None of them like that the vote is scheduled in the middle of the summer, after a survey was taken to check when people will be away. None of them like that the Govt has decided that half of the registered voters have to vote yes for it to be carried, unlike the last one where 50% of those who voted carried it. None of them like the unfair approach that Govt is taking with the negative question. Govt is making a HUGE mistake if they think only the opposition condemns what they are doing.
If the head of the stream is dirty, what are the finally expectations in the end. Dirt Dirt Dirt.