PRESS STATEMENT- July 19, 2012

The One Man One Vote Group would like to sincerely thank all who came out to vote in the referendum and in particular, the 5,631 persons (65%) who voted in favour of single member constituencies featuring “One Man, One Vote”. The people can earnestly claim a strong victory!

The results demonstrate by a wide margin that the voters who exercised their civic duties and went to the polls desire a change to single member constituencies featuring One Man, One Vote. It is disappointing to note therefore that the UDP Government has hastily dismissed Wednesday’s results by firstly stating they will not take the overwhelming support in favour of One Man One Vote under advisement and secondly, by postulating that the large numbers of persons who chose not to vote in the referendum equated to a vote against the referendum. That is a misleading and irresponsible statement not supported by any factual evidence when the results of the referendum clearly are. Those results are the only reference tool by which the Government should measure the wishes of the people however, as we have witnessed with this Government, when the results do not accord with their agenda, they resort to spin and confusion of the facts to continue to have their way. That is not democracy and therefore of necessity, the public debate will continue.

The OMOV Group would wish to sincerely thank all those patriots who believed in our initiative by volunteering your time to educate the public, gather signatures for the petition and those who gave financial support, prayerful support of our efforts and who helped in many other ways. Because of your efforts, you affected national debate on a significant issue in our quest to have a more perfect democracy; there is no cause so great and so noble and so worth fighting for.

We are proud that just a handful of concerned Caymanians which make up the OMOV Group could galvanize our country through education and debate, then create history by being a part of Cayman’s first ever “stand alone” referendum. It is our sincere desire that our efforts have given hope to others in our community who want to participate in the issues affecting all our lives, particularly the younger generations. We will continue to pay close attention to the affairs of our country and express our opinions as we feel necessary.

Cayman’s future is in our hands; it is up to all of us to ensure we have a bright and successful one.

With sincere and heartfelt thanks once again to all,

The One Man One Vote Group