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(CNS): Retaining the five traditional districts boundaries in Grand Cayman while reshaping constituencies will result in more major population differences, the Electoral Boundary Commission has warned. As district meetings got underway this week, the three-member team tasked with redrawing Cayman’s election map explained the challenges presented by the huge population growth, especially in Bodden Town, since the constituencies were drawn in 2015.
While there will likely be boundary changes to almost all of the 17 constituencies on Grand Cayman, the most pressing and challenging problem that the commissioners face is how they deal with Bodden Town. In the eight years since the original single-member constituency map was created in 2015, the four seats in that district have increased significantly and are well beyond the average size of those in George Town and West Bay.
As she outlined the possibilities at the first meeting in that district on Wednesday evening, EBC Chairperson Dr Lisa Handley said that if the commission retains the traditional boundary for the district and redraws the boundaries of the four constituencies of Savannah, Newlands, Bodden Town West and Bodden Town East to make them more even, they will still exceed the international standard of no more than a 10% population difference among national constituencies.
She said that all four would be over-populated and in reality, the increases in the district’s population and its expected continued growth means it needs five seats to even out the numbers. But that means either merging North Side and East End into one constituency, a move that is bound to cause a backlash, or for parliament to vote to introduce an additional seat, increasing the number of MPs to twenty, which would require a constitutional change.
EBC member Adrianne Webb said that in order to avoid the possibility of a hung parliament, the legislature needs to retain an uneven number of seats, so it would really mean increasing the membership to twenty-one. While this would be an additional cost, Steve McField, the third member of the commission, said that the importance of a functioning and fair democracy was more important than costs. He also argued that, contrary to popular belief, MPs do work very hard and there is plenty for additional members to do.
The EBC members said they do not have the power to add seats, so they will still have to come up with a feasible re-drawing of boundaries that creates an even number of existing and future voters in each constituency on Grand Cayman.
The Constitution mandates two seats for the Sister Islands, even though both constituencies are in decline and fall far short of the average size. As of 1 April, the electoral register had just 459 voters for Cayman Brac East, the country’s smallest constituency, compared to Bodden Town East, the largest with 1,648 voters.
There are no constitutional requirements with regard to the electoral map in Grand Cayman. However, Webb stressed the significant importance of district boundary lines and noted that people would not welcome an electoral map that crosses those boundaries. But it is clear that with the growth of the Caymanian population likely to continue in the constituencies east of George Town Central, the map will have to either be unfair or break with tradition.
McField also warned that the continued population growth in some areas and a decline in other places where local people can no longer afford to live means that government must put a lid on this surge in population and incentivize people to move out to East End and North Side.
The commissioners are looking for comments from the public about their task and the best way to accommodate the wants and wishes of voters, rather than politicians, while maintaining a fair and balanced electoral map.
The public meetings continue in Bodden Town this evening at the Theoline McCoy Primary School (Bodden Town Primary) starting at 7pm. Members of the public can also email their comments or questions to ebc@elections.ky or visit the Elections Office website for more information and details of the remaining meetings.
See the current electoral maps here.
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