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, Cayman's history of independent candidates as well as political groupings that fall short of being fully registered political parties but which may play a role in the upcoming election.
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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 Party has announced six additional candidates including sitting MPs, former Premier Wayne Panton, Katherine Ebanks-Wilks, Sabrina Turner, and Heather Bodden. Additional candidates announced are Emily DeCou, who formerly worked in the Financial Services and Legal industry and is now a sustainability consultant, former Cabinet Minister with The Progressives, Osbourne Bodden, real-estate agent Robert Bodden and community advocate Natasha Whitelock.
The Caymanian Community Party may field additional candidates as they set out to win enough seats to form a government. The TCCP is yet to release its 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”. They outline 14 themes that will likely be developed further but which include quality of life, immigration, the economy, education, and the environment amongst others.
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 Layman 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. Other candidates who are running for office for the National Party are Bud Johnson, Carmen McField, Craig Merren, Dawn Thomas, Gary "Peanut" Rutty, Gueva Richards, Haymond Rankin, Julie Hunter, Jordan Rivers, Michael Myles, Nickolas DaCosta and Dawn Thomas. None of the candidates running have been elected to the Cayman Islands Parliament previously.
The Party is yet to release 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 PPM has 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.
The party intends to field candidates in all 19 constituencies and with several long-running PPM members stepping down from their seats including Sir Alden McLaughlin, Moses Kirkconnell, Barbara Conolly, and David Wight, many new faces are anticipated to be announced in the coming weeks. The candidates already announced for the Progressives are: Joseph "Joey" Hew, Roy McTaggart, Craig "Festa" Frederick, Roy Tatum, Justin Ebanks, Crystal Gomez Wilson and Alva Suckoo.
The Progressives have not yet 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 and several candidates have already indicated that they will again stand in the forthcoming election as independent candidates. In recent years, independent candidates have played a crucial role as they have leant their support to parties to form a government. In addition, the last government was made up entirely of independent candidates who campaigned on differing policy platforms, however this was unusual and seems unlikely to happen again.
You can meet all the candidates standing as independents by selecting Independent on our 'Meet the Candidates' page.
Political Groupings
United People’s Movement
The current government led by Premier Julianna O’Connor Connolly is a minority government referred to as the United People’s Movement (UPM). The UPM is not a political party and it is unclear, although unlikely, that the grouping will survive and field candidates in the election.
Organization for a Better Cayman
Set up by McKeeva Bush in 2024, but not registered as a political party, the Organization for a Better Campaign, is a political organisation that Mr Bush claims intends to run candidates at the upcoming election. A manifesto will be launched in due course outlining its vision for Cayman. However, in a press conference held to launch his new group, Mr Bush expressed his concern over the effectiveness of government led by independents and said that government needs leadership and structure to be effective. The mission of his organization is “empowering communities through sustainable development, social justice, and holistic well-being”.