Archive for August, 2014
LA to tackle OMOV again
(CNS): Given what he says was the lack of a "definitive resolution" after the last debate, the member for East End has filed and been given the nod for another 'one man, one vote' debate in the Legislative Assembly. A private member's motion submitted by Arden McLean is almost identical to the one debated by members earlier this year but this time the independent member is hoping to get the missing government MLAs to be there for the vote. McLean's motion went down to the wire at the vote in the county's parliament in March but was decided by the speaker with her casting vote against. However, four minsters who all said they supported the voting change during the election campaign missed the division.
The East End member is hoping that in the next debate the ministers for education, finance, financial services and health will be in the chamber and will this time be true to their election promises and back his motion.
The premier has stated recently that he will not be dealing with the change to Cayman's voting system during this administration because, he has said, some members of his coalition government do not support the change. While it is common knowledge that Speaker of the House, Juliana O'Connor-Connolly, is opposed to changing the current system, she is only required to vote in the event of a tie.
Premier Alden McLaughlin has implied that the stumbling blocks to the introduction of ‘one man, one vote’ in single member constituencies are the Coalition for Cayman members of his team, but that claim was shaken when the three issued a statement to CNS indicating their support for OMOV.
McLean will be hoping that, given the wide support for the change to the voting system before Cayman goes to the polls in 2017, the outcome of the next debate on the subject will be very different. The East End member described the issue as very "emotive" and said there was a need to bring closure on the matter.
McLean's motion is backed by his independent parliamentary colleague Ezzard Miller, who has seconded the motion. He also has the support of two opposition UDP/CUDP members, Captain Eugene Ebanks and Bernie Bush, but Opposition Leader McKeeva Bush has said he won't make political capital out of the debate by supporting it as he does not believe Cayman should move to single member constituencies.
However, McLean can count on two certain 'yes' votes from the government back benchers as Anthony Eden offered his support and voted in favour during the last debate on the subject. Alva Suckoo will also support McLean as he had made it clear he would bring his own motion on the issue if the back-bencher had not already done so.
The question now will be if McLaughlin continues on the line of stating that he supports OMOV in SMCs but can't do it because his government will fall apart or whether he will clear the whip and the concept of collective responsibility and allow his front benchers to vote with their conscience.
Although the motion has been cleared by the speaker and added to the next meeting's business paper, government has not yet set the date for the next session of the LA. However, it is understood it will take place in September.