43 Nominated as Voters decide who will lead TCI into Next Decade

Deandrea Hamilton

Editor

Turks and Caicos, January 19, 2025 – Forty-three men and women have secured nominations for the February 7 General Elections according to the Elections Department of the Turks and Caicos Islands; it reflects a relative decrease in nominee interest despite a constitutional expansion of electable seats in the House of Assembly.

Nomination day was held on Tuesday, January 14, 2025 across the voting districts of the TCI.

Each of the major political parties – the People’s Democratic Movement (PDM) and the Progressive National Party (PNP) had 19 individuals officially nominated for the 19 seats now up for grabs in the upcoming runoff.  Ten of those seats are districts, the other nine are for the all-island or at-large contenders.

It is a consequential race which establishes who will govern the islands into the next decade.

The third party, the Progressive Democratic Alliance (PDA) which now enters its third election race has one man who will challenge in the all-island category, which has grown from five seats to nine.

Five independent candidates have nominated this time around, showing a waning interest there as electors continue to cast votes largely for the established political machinery.

In the recent constitutional amendment, which took effect in late November 2024, the concept of appointing four people to the House of Assembly was repealed and replaced.  The four, which came – two from the Governor and one from each major party – will now be elected to serve by the Voters.

Each ballot will feature two distinct sections, according to the Elections Department.  One section will be devoted to the all-island candidates, the other section will be for the constituency or district candidate choices.

Voters will choose nine people in the all-island category and one individual to represent their home constituency.

Forty-three names on a single ballot where you get to choose multiple candidates may seem daunting, but over the years electors have managed the transition remarkably well, though the tallying process was often described as protracted.

It was in 2012 that the Turks and Caicos adopted, constitutionally, this unique style of voting.  It would still employ the first past the post system, which gives the seat to the candidate with the popular vote or most votes at the end of the night.  It now also gave electors the option of choosing more representatives.  That meant someone for the district and five people who ran on a national level.

Previously, Turks and Caicos elections featured 15 constituency seats; often with only two contenders.  One from the PDM and one from the PNP; voters were expected to select one and be done.  Over the years that has brought election victory evenly to these two political camps.  Six election wins for the PDM, the oldest party and six election wins for the PNP, the incumbent party.

Based on the numbers, the dramatic change to elect not one but six MPs presented in the revised, UK-drafted 2011 Constitution Order seemed to be an exciting new prospect.  It followed three-years of UK Direct Rule, when elected representation was put on hold due to jarring allegations of “systemic corruption” in government and abuse of power in governance.

This broadening of the field of who could serve in the house of representatives held the power to not only disrupt the popularity of a two party system but it flung wide the doors of opportunity to individuals who brought independent insight and opted to run unattached to the entrenched parties.

There were 37 candidates in that general election, given the nod by the PDM, the PNP, the PPP (People Progressive Party, which is now defunct) and those who ran as independents.

The November 9, 2012 general election ballot had six constituencies which featured three candidates, four of them offered to the voter two candidates and vying for the five all-island seats available at that time, were 11 individuals.

Voter turnout was nearly 88%; the highest it’s been since the 2011 constitution was enacted.

Four years later, the December 15, 2016 general election saw voter turnout dip by 7% but candidates’ interest in House of Assembly representation boomed with 52 nominees.

It was the election cycle that saw the birth of a new political party, the PDA and a whopping number of independents offered for the five all-island seats.

History shows 31 candidates ran for the 10 district seats with South Caicos fielding the most, at four candidates on the district side of the ballot paper.  In the all-island category, 21 names were presented to the nation.

Fast forward to February 19, 2021 when interest in candidacy dwindled to its lowest, 38 people.

We saw no challenge of the PDA in any of the constituencies and unattached interest came from seven individuals.

Voter turnout also dropped dramatically in 2021 to 75%, reflecting that over 2,000 voters or one third of the electorate did not participate in the vote. While the lower turnout could have been fear linked to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, many leaned toward high voter apathy or disillusionment with the political system.

After a noteworthy bi-partisan victory on changes to the Constitution, the 2024 amendments gave voters more to consider.  More candidates for which to cast a vote, more years for political parties to serve and more ministers to carry out country affairs, among other things.

Voters can select a total of ten individuals to serve in what will now be the Parliament of the Turks and Caicos Islands.  That’s four more votes to be carefully chosen by colouring in an oval next to the name of the candidates of one’s choice.  One constituency, nine all-island.

The excruciating wait for returns and results on the choices of now 9,353 registered voters – an increase of 772 electors – will be cut significantly as ballots will now be tabulated, electronically.

Electronic voting makes its debut in the Turks and Caicos Islands on February 7, 2025 and when the results come in, whomever is named the winner in each of the 10 districts and whomever makes it as among the top nine finishers in the All-Island category will go on to comprise the Parliament for the next five years.