Type Unicameral Governor Helen Kilpatrick | Monarch Elizabeth II Last election 22 May 2013 | |
 | ||
Speaker Juliana O'Connor-Connolly Seats 18 (elected)
2 (ex officio) | ||
The Legislative Assembly of the Cayman Islands is the unicameral legislature of the British Overseas Territory of the Cayman Islands. It is composed of 20 members; 18 elected members for a four-year term and two members ex officio under the Constitution of 2009.
Contents
The Governor may at any time, by Proclamation, prorogue or dissolve the Assembly. The Governor shall dissolve the Assembly at the expiration of four years from the date when the Assembly first meets after any general election unless it has been sooner dissolved. There shall be a general election at such time within two months after every dissolution of the Assembly as the Governor shall, by Proclamation, appoint. The first meeting of every session of the House shall, by Proclamation, be held on such day as the Governor shall appoint. A session usually consists of four meetings. A Meeting comprises several sittings.
In the elections of 8 November 2000, with a turnout of 80% only non-partisans were elected. After the election, conservative members of parliament formed the United Democratic Party. The social democratic People's Progressive Movement formed in response and won the subsequent election.
In the most recent election, the Progressives won a plurality of seats and formed a majority government with the support of independent members of the assembly.
History
The first meeting to discuss the possible legislative future of the Cayman Islands took place on 5 December 1831 at Pedro St. James, a great house in the fertile area of Savannah on Grand Cayman. This building is the seat of parliamentary beginnings in the Cayman Islands.
By 1909 what got established as the Legislative Assembly of Justices and Vestry was meeting in the Court House on the waterfront in what is now the headquarters of the Cayman Islands National Museum, in front of Hog Sty Bay and the cruise passenger arrival terminal. The building served as the seat of government, the court hozxuse and the legislature. Now it is the home of the Cayman Islands National Museum.
The present Legislative Assembly building was built on the site of the former Princess Royal Park. The building design was the subject of some controversy when selected as the winner of an international architectural competition. Being the first poured concrete public building in Cayman, modern techniques were not yet in use, so the concrete was mixed on the street and poured pail by pail by a bucket brigade. The cornerstone was laid by Captain Rayal Brazly Bodden, MBE, JP, on 29 September 1971. The building was completed in July 1972.
By 2003, the legislature had outgrown the space and the building was in need of renovating. Repair and refurbishment work on the building began in February 2003, which added more space through reconfiguration, and renovated and refurbished portions of the interior, including the main chamber.
The newly refurbished and expanded building was inaugurated with the opening of the Legislature session on 2 July 2004, two months before Hurricane Ivan, which almost completely devastated Grand Cayman over a two-day period (11–12 September 2004). The LA building withstood the storm with minor damage to its roof.
Following a constitutional amendment in 2009, the Legislative Assembly of the Cayman Islands has 20 members, 18 elected and 2 appointed, up from 18 members, 15 elected and 3 appointed.
The elected members represent the Islands' six districts. The district of George Town returns six members, four each come from Bodden Town and West Bay, two from Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, and one each from North Side and East End.
The two ex officio (appointed) members are appointed by the Governor. They are the Deputy Governor and the Attorney-General.
Official Members
Deputy Governor; First Official Member, Responsible for External Affairs
Attorney General; Second Official Member, Responsible for Legal Affairs