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. Find out more about the political parties that are registered with the Elections Office and Cayman's history of independent candidates.
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The Caymanian Community Party
Newly registered in 2025, The Caymanian Community Party (TCCP), is led by former Deputy Premier André Ebanks MP, the incumbent in West Bay South. The Party has announced a total of ten candidates including incumbents Wayne Panton, Katherine Ebanks-Wilks, Sabrina Turner and Heather Bodden. Additional candidates announced are Emily DeCou, Osbourne Bodden, Robert Bodden, Natasha Whitelock and Anthony Ramoon.
The Caymanian Community Party will be hoping to win enough seats to be in with a chance to form a government with the support of victorious independent candidates or perhaps the Cayman Islands National Party. Unless of course they win in all ten of the districts in which they are fielding candidates - a tough ask - in which case they will be able to form a majority government.
The TCCP has not released a manifesto however in a press release announcing the launch of the party, they said that the party is founded on the principle of “Caymanians and community, first” and a commitment to “sound decision-making, stability and fairness”. The party say that their platform will be built on 14 themes including quality of life, immigration, the economy, education, and the environment.
Cayman Islands National Party
Another newly registered party this year, the Cayman Islands National Party (abbreviated to the National Party or CINP), has been established by Dan Scott, a former partner at EY and former Chair of the Education Council, who is running for Parliament in the district of Cayman Brac East. In total the National Party is fielding 12 candidates and hopes to win enough seats to give them a fighting chance of forming the next government, perhaps in coalition with independent parties or even the Caymanian Community Party.
The other candidates who are running for office for the National Party are Bud Johnson, Carmen McField, Craig Merren, Gary "Peanut" Rutty, Gueva Richards, Haymond Rankin, Julie Hunter, Jordan Rivers, Michael Myles, Nickolas DaCosta and Dawn Thomas. None of the candidates running have previous parliamentary experience, however many have been active in their local communities for some time and come to politics after successful careers in the private sector.
The Party has not released a manifesto however, speaking to the Cayman Compass in January 2025, Mr Scott says that his party “is founded on principles of transparency, accountability, and community-focused leadership” and that their “mission is to foster a thriving nation for all Caymanians to achieve their full potential for a higher quality of life in a secure, sustainable, and united Cayman Islands where innovation leads, and business and job opportunities abound for all Caymanians.” Following their official launch, the Party laid out a number of policy priorities including improving resources for teachers and upgrading school facilities, reducing the cost of housing and strengthening the borders. You can read more about their policy priorities and outcomes on their website.
The Progressives (People’s Progressive Movement)
The longest established political party in Cayman, The Progressives (formerly known as the People’s Progressive Movement or the PPM for short) is led by Joseph "Joey" Hew, the current Official Leader of the Opposition in Parliament. The Progressives have been in government three times over the last twenty years (once as a majority government and twice in coalition), most recently between 2017 and 2021, a record which they say makes them the right choice on 30th April following four years of political turmoil.
The Progressives are fielding a total of 13 candidates including leader Joey Hew, Roy McTaggart, Craig "Festa" Frederick, Roy Tatum, Justin Ebanks, Crystal Gomez Wilson, Alva Suckoo, Kenneth Bryan, Dwayne Seymour, Pearlina McGaw-Lumsden, Delmira Bodden, Donna Bush and Juliana O'Connor-Connelly. They will be hoping to secure enough seats to form a government, perhaps in coalition with a number of friendly independent candidates such as Chris Saunders, should he and others like him win re-election.
The Progressives have not released a manifesto, however, in his New Year message, Joey Hew said that if elected, the PPM would implement a programme for government based on reversing the decline in living standards, making housing and healthcare more affordable, controlling immigration, reducing crime, protecting the national environment and pursuing an economic strategy that would lead to opportunities for Caymanians.
Independent Candidates
Cayman has a long tradition of candidates standing as independents. In recent years, independent candidates have played a crucial role as they have lent their support to parties to form a government. In addition, the last government was made up almost entirely of independent candidates who campaigned on differing policy platforms, however this was unusual and seems unlikely to happen again.
There are 24 independent candidates standing in this year's election, many of whom are seasoned campaigners and will be confident of victory this time around. You can meet all the candidates standing as independents by selecting Independent on our Meet the Candidates page.