GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands, CMC – Premier Wayne Panton’s coalition government survived a motion of no confidence late Tuesday night with the opposition failing to receive the necessary two-thirds majority required to unseat the administration as outlined in the constitution of the British Overseas territory.
When the vote was taken, eight legislators voted in favor of the motion, while seven voted against it with three abstentions. Two of those abstaining came from the ruling PACT coalition.
The government and opposition have nine seats in the 19-member chamber, leaving Speaker Catherine Ebank-Wilks with a critical casting vote.
At the end of the debate, Ebank-Wilks called for constitutional reform to be considered, especially regarding the position of the Speaker in such situations and for the role to be autonomous.
Earlier, Premier Panton had urged legislators to vote against the motion of no confidence in his coalition government, rejecting calls for the establishment of a government of national unity instead.
“Madam Speaker, this motion deserves to be voted down,” Panton said, telling legislators that his coalition had been delivering to the people of the Cayman Islands. His administration now needs to present the national budget “to reflect the wishes they expressed in 2021 that we have been toiling to deliver on their behalf”.
But McKeeva Bush, who resigned from the PACT government last Thursday, said he agrees with the Leader of the Opposition, Roy McTaggart, for the formation of the government of national unity, saying that he is prepared to serve within that administration.
In piloting the motion, McTaggart, the Leader of the prominent opposition People’s Progressive Movement (PPM/Progressives), referred to what he called “an unprecedented situation.”
He told legislators that the motion was directed at the policy shortcomings of a dysfunctional government that now lacks the parliamentary majority to govern effectively.
The former finance minister said he was particularly concerned about the status of the upcoming budget and its implications for the government’s economic management.
McTaggart had said that the resignation of Bush had left Premier Panton without a viable government, so he should step down.
In refuting the allegations, Panton told legislators that he has never been about “political expediency,” adding, “It is not something that you want to deal with ever.”
He insisted that his coalition has been “providing stability” irrespective of the rough ends at the time and that “we are delivering what the people expect, and we are doing it with integrity.
“The difficulty that we have at this point is disagreement over how we address things that are critically important to us,” Panton said, noting that, for instance, the Cayman Islands, which is seven feet above sea level, is still feeling the impact of climate change.
“The impacts are becoming clearer, and these are things we cannot run away from,” he said, adding, “so we have to make sure we deal with these critical issues.”
“The motion is designed to be opportunistic, but is it politics? That’s the arena we are in,” Panton said, noting that governing is and will always be complicated.
The ruling coalition has three members leaving this year, including former finance minister Chris Saunders and former labor minister Dwayne Seymour.
Political observers say the no-confidence motion also presented another constitutional issue for the Cayman Islands.
They said that while much of the attention was focused on the 13 votes needed for the motion to be successful, the Cayman Islands constitution requires a two-thirds majority for a no-confidence motion to be successful, unlike what occurs in the United Kingdom and several Overseas Territories, namely British Virgin Islands, Montserrat and Turks, and Caicos Islands.
But McTaggart has said he did not favor an early election and presented alternative options for a new coalition led by the Progressives/PPM or a new PACT team without Panton as Premier.
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