Governor Names New Boundaries Commission for TCI

Dana Malcolm

Staff Writer

#TurksandCaicos, March 4, 2024 – As the country draws closer to another general election a new Boundaries Commission has been appointed to rearrange the electoral districts of the Turks and Caicos in a fair and equitable way, likely creating more constituencies and possibly fixing issues highlighted in a 2021 review by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA).

Rev. Dr. Julia Williams

Dileeni Daniel-Selvaratnam, TCI Governor made the announcement of the appointment on February 26 naming Rev. Dr. Julia Williams – Chair, Justice Neville Adderly and  Attorney-at-Law, Mrs. Tremmaine Harvey, as members of the Commission.

The CPA had recommended a revision of the district boundaries following its observation of the electoral process in 2021; creating equal suffrage.  It has also pinned down an ideal timeline: one year before the next general elections.

Now re-constituted, the Boundaries Commission has a mandate to review the boundaries of the electoral districts into which the islands are divided and then submit to the Governor and the House of Assembly a report with their recommendations. Those suggestions will either point to a need for change or indicate that no changes should be made.

Justice Neville Adderly

The Turks and Caicos and UK governments agreed in 2023 on three immediate changes to the Constitution, a name change from ‘House of Assembly’ to ‘Parliament’; the change from an election term of four years to five and the removal of all four appointed member posts.

It’s the last change that the Boundaries Commission will likely find is steering their revision and recommendations.  Four duly elected members of the Parliament almost certainly means the creation of at most, four new electoral districts and could push the number of EDs from 10 to 14.

The distribution of voters within the electoral districts is also a matter of concern.

The 2021 report from the CPA had taken serious issue with how votes are distributed locally. It said: “There were severe differences amongst the numbers of voters registered in each electoral district. It is arguable, therefore, that electoral boundaries have not been drawn in compliance with the Constitution of the Turks and Caicos Islands. In addition, the differences in numbers of voters per elected representative undermine the principle of equality of the suffrage and the equal weight of the vote.”

Tremmaine Harvey

With no changes having been made since then, the issue remains the same. In the 2024/25 voters list for example the distribution varies significantly.

The largest district, Cheshire Hall and Richmond Hill, has 1,429 voters followed by Five Cays with 1,342. This is contrasted with the two smallest districts, Middle and North Caicos with 616 and South Caicos with only 370 voters.

Other recommendations raised by the CPA in their report included promoting female participation; regulations requiring identification of those who sponsor online voting content; publishing of full details of all political donations for transparency (not including home addresses or contacts for donors); continuous voter registration drives and new laws for fighting corruption and protecting disabled residents.