Deandrea Hamilton
Editor

Turks and Caicos, February 8, 2025 – In 2021 the People’s Democratic Movement managed to hold onto one seat and in 2025, four years later the party in blue has now managed to, just barely claw back one seat to form a tiny minority in the House of Assembly.

It was a devastating February 7 for Astwood and the PDM, which was unable to derail the PNP train.  Astwood, who was silent throughout the night as election results rolled in, issued a statement on Saturday afternoon.

“I want to begin by congratulating the winners of this election. To the incoming government, I extend my best wishes. The responsibility of leadership is great, and I pray that you will govern with wisdom, fairness, and a deep commitment to the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands.  The challenges before us are real, and while we may sit on opposite sides of the political aisle, we all share a common love for this country,” said the leader of the PDM.

Edwin Astwood, who ran in the constituency of Grand Turk South, which includes the island of Salt Cay was able to hold onto his seat, where the race was a three way contention.

Astwood secured 363 votes, and will once again serve in parliament along with Audric Skippings, who clinched the Bight by one vote.

“And we, the People’s Democratic Movement, will continue to be a voice for the people, holding the government accountable and ensuring that the promises made tonight are kept in the days and years ahead.

This is not the end of our journey. The PDM is strong. The PDM is resilient. And the PDM will rise again.”

Rising again will take a lot of honest soul searching as the effort erected by the team lay in ruins, the PNP with its “keep it where you got it” campaign widened support in many areas, getting a clear mandate from the 74% of the electorate which turned out at the polls.

“To the incredible candidates of the People’s Democratic Movement, I could not be prouder of the campaign we ran. Though we did not win this time, your dedication, passion, and service to this country will never be forgotten.

To our campaign team, our volunteers, and the Young Democrats, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. You worked day and night, sacrificing your time, your energy, and your resources for this cause. You inspired so many, and I have no doubt that the future of the PDM—and indeed the future of this nation—is bright because of you.

And most importantly, to every single person who placed their trust in us, who cast their vote for the PDM, who believed in our vision for a better Turks and Caicos— thank you. Your support means everything, and while we may not have won this election, we will never stop fighting for you.”

Among the issues the PDM pitched in the hope to secure the majority of House of Assembly seats was on crime, infrastructural development, housing, immigration and youth development.  Though rallies, talk shows, press conferences, statements and media interviews the party had hoped for returned support and new voters.

The Leader said his candidates fought hard and acknowledged the sacrifices.

“I urge every supporter to stay engaged, stay hopeful, and stay committed to the progress of our nation. We may have lost an election, but we have not lost our vision, our purpose, or our determination to see the Turks and Caicos Islands reach its full potential.”

Edwin Astwoon, who is serving a fourth consecutive term said the PDM respects the election outcome and remains committed to the Turks and Caicos Islands.

“I stand before you with a heart full of gratitude and pride, even as we accept the results of this election. The people have spoken, and in a democracy, we honor and respect the will of the people.”

Turks and Caicos, February 10, 2025 – At the invitation of the office of the Governor of the Turks and Caicos Islands, Citizens Action for Free and Fair Election (CAFFE), mounted an observation mission to cover the general elections held in the territory on Friday, February 7, 2025. The team from CAFFE, comprising four members of the organization, led by Deputy Chairman, Anton Thompson were able to witness the opening of the poll, voting and the close of poll process.

Members of the team began arriving from Tuesday February 4, 2025 and, prior to the elections, meetings were held with the Supervisor of Elections and members of his team, the Acting Commissioner of Police and other stakeholders.

Voting was conducted in thirty (30) polling stations across the ten electoral districts in the territory. On election day, each of the four CAFFE observers was deployed to one of the four main island groups namely, Grand Turk, Middle and North Caicos, Providenciales and South Caicos. CAFFE’s observer team visited all the polling locations during the course of the day and, in many cases, was able to visit some locations more than once.

The elections provided a particular challenge in that, for the first time, an electronic tabulating system was being used in all polling stations, which meant that the ballots were not, in the first instance, going to be counted manually. This involved voters shading oval spaces next to the names of their preferred candidates on the ballot, rather than marking an “X” as had been the case in the past.

The introduction of this system was intended to speed up the tabulation of the votes and the announcement of the results.

We wish to mention that the teams from the Elections Department were well-trained and approached their assignments with enthusiasm and diligence. In addition, there was adequate security at all locations with the officers displaying a high level of professionalism. There were no reports of disruptive behaviour on the part of voters or any other persons during the conduct of the polls. We witnessed no instances of treating, bribing or intimidation of voters. And, we saw no breach of the regulations prohibiting congregation within 100 yards of polling locations.

On the other hand, there were some challenges with the use of the new electronic tabulating system for voting. The set-up arrangements in the morning took some time and were delayed if all the required persons, including agents, were not present. This meant that most polling locations opened late – some by as much as an hour late.

Although, the Presiding Officers did their very best to provide detailed explanations as to how to mark the ballots, using this new system, some, mostly older, voters had problems and had to return for a second ballot – as is provided for in the law.

In the view of the CAFFE Observer Team, the elections were free and fair, were conducted with high professional standards and, as such, the results would have reflected the wishes of the electorate.

A full report will be submitted to the Governor’s office in approximately thirty days.

Caffe wishes to congratulate the staff of the Electoral Commission, the Poll Workers, the Political Parties and their Candidates, the Security Forces and the People of the TCI for the mature way in which the Elections were conducted with no reported incidents of violence, and the high level of patience displayed while waiting in queues.

CAFFE also wishes to thank the Office of the Governor of the Turks and Caicos Islands for the opportunity to participate in this exercise and the invaluable support they provided and the Supervisor of Elections and his team for their facilitation of our visits to the various polling locations.

Turks and Caicos, February 9, 2025 – It took some diligence and re-learning of the electoral process back in 2012 to understand the unique practice of voting for candidates in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

No longer were voters only choosing one constituency representative, but also five all island representatives. That has since ballooned to nine due to a constitutional change which eliminated appointed seats. Now, all seats in the TCI’s parliament are held by an individual who has been duly elected by the people.

Curiosity emerged in this 2025 national poll when E Jay Saunders, a PNP backbencher won the most votes in the all island category. He finished with 4,614 and topped Washington Misick, his party’s leader and the re-elected premier, who got 4,208 votes.

They were first and second, though the difference between them was 406 votes.

It’s not the first time the most popular finisher in the all island vote hasn’t also been premier. In fact, the first time this happened the person who got the most votes – Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson – had to be contented with serving as Opposition Leader because her party was not the one with the most elected candidates. That was in 2012.

In these islands, the premiership is won when two simple requirements are met.

One, when a political party elects its leader it is constitutionally entrenched within that document that the leader, if he or she wins their seat, will ascend to premier.

Leader of party equals leader of country if that party wins the most seats to form government and if that person is a holder of one of those seats.

Two, in order to satisfy the country’s constitutional requirement, you have to be elected to parliament and deemed the leader of the party with the most seats.

In TCIs case, we have 9 seats for the all island candidates.

Any individual who ended the day as among the nine people with the most votes, they would have satisfied that requirement because they would be among the nine elected in that category.

First or fifth, you’re in the nine and you’re the party leader, then you’re the premier.

If you’re a party leader and ended up the candidate with even the ninth highest amount of votes, you would still be qualified to be country leader.

Place in this category of the race does not matter. It’s why the fight for leadership is often so fierce within political parties, why a party has to be governed by a constitution so that clear rules are established and accepted and why the organisation has to be government approved or registered.

The governor then complies with the party’s written constitution about who he or she must swear in as premier if the said party racks up the most seats.

The PNP won the most seats; 16 of 19.

The PNP chose Washington Misick as its leader, therefore Washington Misick becomes the premier.

Popularity in the all island category in TCI gives one bragging rights (if they feel like it) and insight into how the public sees or accepts them. But, that’s all.

The voters in this 2025 runoff have demonstrated that of all the 20+ candidates that ran all island or at large, EJ Saunders was or is the most popular because he got the most votes in this category. He’s got to feel good about that fact and he should. That’s some seriously bankable political capital which he can spend in a bid to become the next leader of the PNP first, then the Turks and Caicos Islands if his party is able to repeat a victory in 2030, which is when elections are constitutionally due.

Popularity is super but in the Turks and Caicos’ system it does not automatically mean, premier.