News Americas, GEORGETOWN, CI, Weds. April 7, 2021: Another Caribbean country is going to the polls in the pandemic.
Voters in the Cayman Islands head to the polls on April 14, 2021 to choose a candidate in their constituency to be their representative in Parliament.
There are 19 single-member constituencies, two of which represent the Sister Islands: Cayman Brac East, and Cayman Brac West and Little Cayman. The Elections Office has confirmed 50 candidates, all of whom have been approved to run for public office on April 14.
There are two active political parties in the Cayman Islands: the Progressives and the Cayman Islands People’s Party. The Cayman Democratic Party (formerly the United Democratic Party) is a registered party, but appears to be defunct now, as previous frontline members of the party are contesting elections as independents.
The current leader of the Progressives is Premier Alden McLaughlin. Ezzard Miller is the interim leader of the Cayman Islands People’s Party.
Cayman uses the first past the post system or simple majority. The candidate who gets the most votes in the constituency, wins.
According to Cayman Resident: following the final results of the election, the party with the majority of seats will form the government and typically the leader of that party would become premier. Once elected, aligned members will determine how the government will be formed and who will lead. If the Progressives obtain a majority, Roy McTaggart, the chosen successor to McLaughlin, will serve as premier. It is unclear who will lead the other alliances, should they capture enough seats to form the government.
