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Who can vote?
To qualify to vote in the Cayman Islands, you must show proof of Caymanian citizenship, be over the age of 18, be resident in the Cayman Islands at the date of registration, and have been a continuous resident of the Cayman Islands for more than two years in the four years prior to the election. All voters who meet these criteria and are confirmed in the Register of Electors are eligible to vote in the General Election.
Who can stand?
In order to qualify to run for election, candidates must be Caymanian, be aged at least 21 years old, and be domiciled and resident in the Cayman Islands. There are detailed requirements for Caymanians who were born abroad and those who hold dual citizenship which you can read more about here. There are also disqualifications for standing for office which include imprisonment for at least 12 months and bankruptcy amongst others.
How many political parties are there in Cayman?
There are three political parties in the Cayman Islands. They are The Progressives, the Caymanian Community Party and the Cayman Islands National Party. There are also looser associations, groupings and organisations - for example, the current government is a coalition of MPs called the United People's Movement led by Premier Julianna O'Connor-Connolly.
Political parties in the Cayman Islands are a little different to many other countries including the US and the UK in that they do not lean left/democrat or right/conservative. As a small community, our issues and challenges are unique to us and this is reflected in our political parties which are driven by local concerns rather than political ideologies.
What/who are people voting for?
There are 19 single member electoral districts in the Cayman Islands. Voters elect one person to represent their district and its constituents in the Cayman Islands Parliament.
How are the winners chosen?
The candidates win by a simple majority, meaning you only need to get one more vote than your nearest rival to secure the seat in Parliament.
How does the Premier get chosen?
Following an election, historically, the party that wins a majority of seats would proceed to form a government. They would assign party members to a ministry and the leader of the party would become Premier.
Those who are not a part of the governing party, sit on the "backbenches" in opposition and are responsible for scrutinising the work of the government and holding it to account in Parliament.
In the event that no single party wins 10 seats (the number needed to form a majority government) then negotiations would begin to form a coalition government involving a number of political parties and/or independent MPs. The Premier will then emerge from these negotiations.
Is election day a public holiday?
Yes, there is precedent for this to be the case in order to give voters the greatest opportunity to vote. However, it is not guaranteed and each General election may be different. The forthcoming election on Wednesday 30th April 2025 is a public holiday.
When do we find out the result?
Once the polls close at 6pm then the Returning Officers will, following the law, open the boxes and count the votes. This is often done in front of the candidates and their agents. Results are usually out in the early hours (12am-2am) the day after an election. There is a window where results can be contested, but the initial results are usually counted within 12-24 hours.
You can follow coverage of the election on Radio Cayman and the following digital channels: Cayman News Service, Cayman Compass and Cayman Marl Road.