COMMONWEALTH OBSERVERS ISSUE FINAL ELECTION REPORT

By Staff Writer

While reinforcing high commendation for the management of Cayman’s April 30th election which it described as “orderly and peaceful”, the observer team from the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association has submitted a series of recommendations on how to even further improve the process.

In its just-published final report, it points mainly to concerns over campaign financing, the right to vote, and shortcomings surrounding the referendums included in the election. 

In its final report, the CPA team again praised the Elections Office headed by Supervisor of Elections Wesley Howell stating that it “should be commended for their transparency, efficiency and professionalism.”

However, it drew attention to what it regards as deficiencies in several administrative and policy issues.

It said while the final report highlighted many strengths, such as the support given to people with disabilities, the report also detailed eleven recommendations. These recommendations include new laws to regulate the conduct of referendums, revising the constituency boundaries and finding ways to encourage more women to run as candidates.

On the recurring matter of campaign financing also addressed in previous election observer reports, the CPA 2025 mission noted the following.

“Campaign finance emerged as a key concern with significant gaps in transparency and accountability. There is a legal CI$40,000 expenditure cap per candidate during the official campaign period and successful candidates must report on their campaign finances. However, there is no such requirement on unsuccessful candidates, no auditing of accounts, and accrued campaign expenses may be underreported.”

Calling for transparency and accountability in campaign finance, the report recommends: “Review the campaign finance regulations, including the reporting requirements for candidates who are not elected, the expenditure limit for candidates, the lack of regulations regarding foreign donors, and reporting accrued campaign costs.”

The question of redrawing specific constituency boundaries has been part of the political discourse for quite some time but no firm action has been taken. According to the CPA report, “Boundary delimitation rules and practices did not result in an equal weight of the vote, with significant differences in the ratio of numbers of voters to elected representatives.”

Stating the principle of ‘one person, one vote’ - the vote of one elector should be equal to the vote of another - the CPA recommends urgent steps to address what it clearly sees as an impediment to Cayman’s process of democracy. It strongly recommends “Revise the constituency boundaries before the next General Election to advance the equality of the vote.”

On the issue of referendums, it states: that the law for the three referendums which coincided with the April 30th election “was minimal in substantive regulatory content” and is “inapplicable for future votes.”

Its recommendation is for the Government and Parliament to “consider the drafting of comprehensive legislation to regulate the conduct of referendums, reflecting international good practice.”

In all, there are eleven recommendations that the Commonwealth Observer team has made in its report on the 2025 election.

The others are:

Equality of women - Consider the introduction of affirmative action measures to support the candidature of more women. It may be valuable to learn what steps other small jurisdictions have taken in this area.

The principle of independent election observation: Consider legal regulation of the roles and responsibilities of election observers, both domestic and international, clarifying the independent nature of their work.

The right to privacy: Consider law reform to protect the right to privacy in the dissemination of voter registration data.

Equal political participation of persons with disabilities: Extend the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to the Cayman Islands.

Balanced, fair and impartial media coverage: Adopt a media code of conduct for elections.

Complaints and appeals: In addition to the complaints form that was introduced for the 2025 General Election, publish an adjoining complaints and appeals policy for election-related matters with clear procedures, deadlines and decision pathways outlined.

The right to vote: Amend the rules on the printing and recording of the serial number of the ballot paper, to ensure absolute secrecy as to the identity of the voter.

Prisoner voting rights: Reassess the blanket restriction on voting for those serving a prison sentence of more than 12 months.

The team carrying out the mission was comprised of seven election observers, of which four were Commonwealth parliamentarians, and two legal and election analysts. Together, they observed voting across Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac in all 19 districts. In total, the observers visited 27 polling stations and five counting centres. The Head of Mission, Deputy Rob Ward from the States Assembly of Jersey, said: “I was impressed by the professional, well-organised and smooth-running of Election Day in our observations in the Cayman Islands. In particular, the Elections Office went ‘the extra mile’ to ensure persons with disabilities could cast their vote, either in their own home via mobile voting, or in polling stations where accessibility was clearly prioritised. I hope our observations detailed in this report are a helpful reflection on the operation of these elections, and play a part in bolstering democracy in the Cayman Islands.”

This is the fourth time the CPA has observed general elections in the Cayman Islands, with previous missions in 2013, 2017 and 2021. In 2021 the mission was conducted virtually, due to COVID-19.