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2025 Turks and Caicos Islands general election
General elections will be held in the Turks and Caicos Islands on 7 February 2025 to determine the composition of the Parliament of the Turks and Caicos Islands.[1] Significant constitutional changes will be in effect and will be the first general election in which nine at-large MPs will be elected.[2] BackgroundThe House of Assembly was renamed as the Parliament of the Turks and Caicos Islands on 10 December 2024, alongside a term increase to a maximum of five years. The electoral system was also modified so that 19 instead of 15 members will be elected, with the four formerly appointed seats becoming at-large constituency seats. The constitutional amendments were unanimously adopted by the House of Assembly and afterwards authorised by the government of the United Kingdom in late 2024.[3] In practice this meant that voters now have to fill out just one paper ballot instead of two, and will fill in ovals next to candidates names instead of marking a box with an X. Votes will be counted electronically. Despite the new simplifications, there is still a concern that some voters will be either unaware or confused by the changes, so both written and video recorded English instructions will also be provided to polling locations on how to vote under the new system.[4] Electoral systemThe Parliament has 21 members, of whom 19 are elected members and two (the Attorney General and Speaker) are ex officio. The 19 elected members elected are elected by two methods; ten are elected from single-member constituencies, with nine elected on an at-large basis, with voters able to vote for up to nine candidates at the national level.[5] Campaign .jpg) Incumbent PNP primer Washington Misick signing the guestbook at the Funeral of Elizabeth II The Turks and Caicos is a two party system between the center right People's Democratic Movement (PDM) and the center left Progressive National Party (PNP). The PNP has been governing with Washington Misick as premier since the 2021 elections saw the PDM collapse from 10 seats to just 1 due to unpopular mismanagement of both the economy and the reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic, which the PNP is still campaigning on.[6] The PNP's manifesto called the PDM's time in office from 2016 to 2021 as "factless and incompetent" and touted over $4 billion in foreign investments under their leadership, as well as a 20% increase in the minimum wage and the first-ever pay review for public servants, alongside a debt forgiveness scheme the government implemented.[7] The PDM's manifesto centered around calling the PNP soft on crime and pledged to strengthen the island’s security framework while also calling to "secure our borders." The manifesto also called for the mass construction of new homes, and the reduction in the cost of living and increasing domestic education and employment opportunities. The PDM also called for an increase to a $1,000 stipend to the elderly, and the expansion of mental health facilities.[8] One of the leading controversies of the election was the leader of the PDM calling the murder of an immigrant insurance broker and her brother, an American sheriff from Chicago, outside a nightclub on January 27, as "a message from God", leading to a reprimand from the Governor "to be mindful."[9][10] References
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