PPM Calls for Modern Election Reform: Acknowledges overspend

The People’s Progressive Movement (PPM) on Tuesday acknowledged that its total campaign spending in the 2025 General Elections exceeded the permitted limit, and is calling for a meaningful review of the Cayman Islands’ outdated election rules.

Under the current rules, each candidate is allowed to spend up to KYD40,000 — a total of KYD520,000 across the PPM’s 13 candidates. Final figures show that this threshold was exceeded, marking the first time the party has gone over the  limit in any election.

“This was never intentional, and we regret it sincerely,” said a spokesperson for the PPM. “But this experience has shown that the current rules do not reflect the realities of how modern campaigns actually work.”

Why the Overspend Happened: The PPM cited several factors that led to the overspend:

Last-minute candidates: Four candidates joined the party just days before Nomination Day, and some had already spent campaign funds independently. Rebranding materials like signs and brochures with the PPM logo and colours led to duplicated costs.

Fast-moving campaign environment: With multiple candidates in many constituencies and a campaign that evolved quickly, tracking expenses in real time proved difficult.

Rising costs: Advertising, outreach, logistics, and event costs have increased sharply in recent years — but the spending limit hasn’t changed in over a decade.

Lengthy campaign period: Cayman’s official campaign period lasts 8 weeks — much longer than countries like Canada or the UK, which manage national elections in just 4 weeks. A longer campaign means higher costs.

Pre-payment: It is has become the practice among many candidates to pre-pay in advance of nomination day for services and products to be utilised during the campaign period.  This is commonly done to reduce the amount of expenditure required to be reported.

The PPM did not follow this  practice and instead has reported all expenses incurred during the entire election campaign.

Call for Reform.

The PPM is now calling on the Government to act swiftly during this parliamentary term to agree to comprehensive elections reform, including for campaign financing. The party is proposing:

* A full review of the spending limit to reflect today’s economic realities

* Clearer rules around what counts as campaign spending

* Exploring the idea of limited public funding for campaigns

* Shortening the official campaign period

“We are committed to working with all stakeholders to improve the fairness, transparency, and accountability of elections in the Cayman Islands,” the PPM said. “Caymanians deserve a system that is fit for today — not one stuck in the past.”

People’s Progressive Movement.