News
Fantastic Five chosen for PDM All Island Candidates
Dana Malcolm
Staff Writer
#TurksandCaicos, March 26, 2024 – The team the People’s Democratic movement hopes will help win the 2025 election against the government’s roster of all island candidates has been revealed with the moniker the ‘Fantastic Five’.
They are Robert Been, Ruth Ariza, Karen Malcolm, Sean Astwood, and Ralph Higgs.
Ezra Taylor, PDM Party National Chairman, said during the selection process the needs of the people were used to guide which candidates were chosen.
The process was open and transparent, the party leaders say.
Surveys were carried out with over 1,000 respondents according to Edwin Astwood, Opposition Leader, with residents indicating who they wanted to run. He stressed there was no ‘scheming’.
”We don’t know how things happened in the past with other parties but we wanted you the people to make the decision and whatever decision you made we were going to live with it. You made this decision for me and I thank you,” he said to the public.
Under questioning from the media, Astwood said the Candidates Commission had investigated each of the candidates and given them a score based on their various strengths and weaknesses. The PDM then decided whether they accepted the recommendations of the
Astwood stressed that he was extremely pleased with the team selected to run on the national stage.
“We have a team that you can be proud of, you know we will do all we can to make your lives better,” he told the over 3,600 viewers who joined in the live broadcast.
Karen Adams Malcolm, former Minister of Education who held an at-large seat from 2016-2021, said she was delighted to accept the nomination in the ‘people centered party’.
Ruth Adams Ariza, sister of Malcolm, said she was ‘honored, excited and humbled’ at the nod and hoped to bring about empowerment.
When queried about why two sisters were chosen, Astwood reiterated that the team was chosen from the votes of the party members., and that he stood by the choices made.
Robert Been, PDM Deputy Party Leader maintained that he would be focused on “building a TCI we can all be proud of; a TCI where our children can thrive; a TCI that works not just for the elite few, but for everyone.”
Ralph Higgs, former Minister of Tourism maintained that ‘this is the team that will get it done for the Turks and Caicos.’ Higgs was a member for the district of North and Middle Caicos from 2016 to 2021, and said he was not running away from his record there but running on it.
The five were chosen out of 19 applicants according to the political party, included in that list of potentials who were not chosen was Hon. Oswald Skippings, Former Elected Member. Skippings, who shared his notification letter with the public.
“We regret to inform you that your application to be an All-Island Candidate for the People’s Democratic Movement in the upcoming General Elections was unsuccessful. This decision was not an easy one due to the high caliber of applications received,” it read.
Expressing a desire to work with all of the applicants, Astwood said there could still be room for All Island candidates with the constitutional mandate for the Boundaries Commission to expand the number of seats from 15 elected to 19 elected members of the House of Assembly.
The PDM Leader also offered hope for placement at the constituency or district level for the unselected applicants.
The announcement for the district seats is set to come in April.