Cayman Islands Election: PPM Wins Most Seats, Coalition Government Likely

By: - May 23rd, 2013

Above: the Cayman Islands Legislative Assembly (CJ Photo)

By Alexander Britell

The opposition People’s Progressive Movement has won a plurality of seats in the Cayman Islands’ election, according to official results.

The PPM, led by Alden McLaughlin, took 9 of 18 seats, one shy of a majority. Five independent candidates won seats, while former Premier McKeeva Bush’s United Democratic Party won four seats.

The PPM will have to form a coalition government to lead the territory, with McLaughlin likely the British Overseas Territory’s next Premier.

The results mean that the embattled Bush, who sought to return to power after being arrested and charged with corruption, will not be Premier, although he did return to the Legislative Assembly with a victory in the West Bay district, where his UDP swept all four seats.

Current Premier Juliana O’Connor-Connolly, who replaced Bush after he was removed in a no-confidence vote, won her Cayman Brac and Little Cayman seat running as an independent.

The PPM had the most success in the large George Town district, winning four of six seats, along with Bodden Town, where it won all four seats.

Bush’s UDP won all four seats in the West Bay district.

See below for the full list of MLAs:

Electoral District of George Town
Kurt Tibbetts – First Elected Member for George Town (PPM
Roy McTaggart – Second Elected Member for George Town (independent)
Alden McLaughlin – Third Elected Member for George Town (PPM)
Marco Archer – Fourth Elected Member for George Town (PPM)
Winston Conolly- Fifth Elected Member for George Town (independent)
Joey Hew – Sixth Elected Member for George Town (PPM)

Electoral District of Bodden Town
Anthony Eden – First Elected Member for Bodden Town (PPM)
Osbourne Bodden – Second Elected Member for Bodden (PPM) Town
Wayne Panton – Third Elected Member for Bodden Town (PPM)
Alva Suckoo – Fourth Elected Member for Bodden Town (PPM)

Electoral District of West Bay
W McKeeva Bush – First Elected Member for West Bay (UDP)
Tara Rivers – Second Elected Member for West Bay UDP
Bernie Bush – Third Elected Member for West Bay (UDP)
Capt. Eugene Ebanks – Fourth Elected Member for West Bay (UDP)

Electoral District of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman
Moses Kirkconnell – First Elected Member for Cayman Brac and Little Cayman  (PPM)
Juliana O’Connor-Connolly – Second Elected Member for Cayman Brac and Little Cayman (independent)

Electoral District of North Side Denison
Ezzard Miller – First Elected Member for North Side (independent)

Electoral District of East End
Arden McLean – First Elected Member for East End (independent)

Cayman Islands

Grenada, Kuwait Form Diplomatic Ties

Above: Grenada (CJ Photo) By the Caribbean Journal staff Grenada has formalized diplomatic relations with Kuwait, the government announced this week. Grenada Foreign Minister Nickolas Steele and Mansour Ayyad Al-Otaibi, Kuwait’s permanent representative to the United Nations, recently signed a “Jointed Communique” to establish ties. Grenada had already been receiving financial support through the Kuwait […]

Cayman Islands

Haiti, IDB to Partner on Green Energy Projects in Rural Areas

Above: Port-au-Prince (CJ Photo) By the Caribbean Journal staff The Inter-American Development bank has approved a grant for a $3 million cooperation project with the government of Haiti to test green energy projects. The projects will test models based on solar, sustainable biomass and hybrid approaches in a country that has the lowest level of […]

Cayman Islands

Op-Ed: Truth, Lies, Tax and Cayman

By Gonzalo Jalles Op-Ed Contributor IT IS NO SURPRISE that the United Kingdom’s Guardian newspaper has once again attacked the Cayman Islands and other Overseas Territories. What does come as a surprise is when the article is written by a highly respected former editor of The Times and displays a lamentable lack of understanding about […]

St Kitts and Nevis PM Visits Kuwait

 Above: Kuwait By the Caribbean Journal staff St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr Denzil Douglas is on an official visit to Kuwait this week. Douglas has already held talks with Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Kuwait’s Prime Minister, discussing cooperation in areas including investment and commerce. Douglas is being accompanied on the trip by […]

Caribbean Hotel Sector Growth Slows

Above: Jamaica By the Caribbean Journal staff After three months of year-over-year growth to start the year, the Caribbean hotel sector saw a mixed bag of numbers in April, according to data from STR. While hotel occupancy stood at 75 percent in April, a 1.3 percent increase over April 2012, average daily rates fell by […]

"We Were Ecological Before Ecological Was Cool"

Above: Kuwait By the Caribbean Journal staff St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr Denzil Douglas is on an official visit to Kuwait this week. Douglas has already held talks with Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Kuwait’s Prime Minister, discussing cooperation in areas including investment and commerce. Douglas is being accompanied on the trip by […]

Haiti: World Bank Approves $90 Million in Health, Business Grants

Above: Port-au-Prince (CJ Photo) By the Caribbean Journal staff The World Bank’s executive board has approved a pair of grants for Haiti totaling $90 million. The first is a $70 million grant from the International Development Association that will cover maternal and basic child health services. The bank said it could benefit “about 1.8 million […]