Updated – Referendum day in the Cayman Islands

Update 6:00pm: Over 55 per cent voted

At 5:26 p.m., just over 55 per cent of the electorate had voted in the referendum, according to data from the Elections Office. A 70.24 per cent turnout in North Side led the way followed by Bodden Town (55.80), George Town (55.30) and East End with 55.25 per cent. In West Bay 54.44 of electors participated and from Cayman Brac and Little Cayman only 47.33 per cent turned out.

Update 4:19pm: Referendum marked by low turnout

Just about half  (49.34 per cent) of registered voters had turned out to the polls by the time of the Elections Office’s 3:38 p.m. update on Referendum Day.

North Side residents displayed the most enthusiasm, with 63.88 per cent of them having voted by early afternoon. Bodden Town and George Town followed with 49.86 and 49.34 per cent respectively. The turnout from West Bay was 48.45 per cent, with 47.61 per cent and 40.71 per cent turning out for East End and Cayman Brac and Little Cayman respectively.

The polls close at 6:00 p.m. and will need to see a substantial uptick in voters for the referendum to achieve the required 50 per cent plus one of registered voters in order to carry.

Referendum update 3:30pm: Almost half of electors already in

By the Elections Office’s update at 1:50 p.m., some 42 per cent of electors had already voted in the referendum for one man, one vote. North Side continued to lead the count with 54.81 per cent of voters making their mark; George Town had 42.73 per cent; Bodden Town had 42.49 and West Bay 40.64.

Polling continued to be low in East End (39.76 per cent) and Cayman Brac and Little Cayman (34.62 per cent).

Update 12:30pm:  Steady voting in referendum

The update from the Elections Office at 11:47 a.m. on Referendum Day noted that up to that time just over one-third of the electorate had voted in the referendum.
Approximately 42 per cent of North Side voters had cast their ballots; George Town followed with 31.90 per cent and Bodden Town with 31.12 per cent. About 29.72 per cent of West Bay voters had participated at the time, 27.14 per cent in Cayman Brac and Little Cayman and only 28.33 per cent in East End.

The polls close at 6:00 p.m. today.

Update 10:30am: Voters in the Cayman Islands go to the polls today in a historic referendum to determine whether the country should change its electoral system to one of single member constituencies and one person, one vote, or retain the current system of multiple votes for some and multiple representatives for some polling districts.

The referendum was called in the wake of a popular grassroots movement that began agitating in February for a change to the electoral system. The group, the One Man, One Vote Committee, originally sought to initiate a people’s referendum on the issue. Premier McKeeva Bush later announced the referendum in April and although this has been called by the ruling administration of his United Democratic Party, the government is opposing the proponents of the change to one person, one vote.

A win for one person, one vote means that there must be 50 per cent plus one of registered voters answering yes to the referendum question: “Do you support an electoral system of single-member constituencies with each elector being entitled to cast only one vote?”

Watch this space for more referendum coverage.