2012 Turks and Caicos Islands general election

Background

In 2009 the British government had imposed direct rule over the islands after an inquiry discovered evidence of corruption and incompetence in the islands' government.

On 12 June 2012 British Foreign Secretary William Hague announced that fresh elections would be held in November 2012, stating that there had been "significant progress with an ambitious reform programme" and that there had been "sufficient progress, on the milestones and on putting in place robust financial controls"

A new constitution came into force on 15 October 2012. The terms of the election are specified in the constitution.

Electoral system

Following the 2007 elections, the number of single-member constituencies was reduced from 15 to 10. However, an additional five members were elected at-large at the national level, According to a report on 12 October, there were 6,896 verified electors in the Electors Register, with an additional 349 to be published in a supplementary register later.

Candidates

On Nomination Day, 25 October, a total of thirty-seven candidates were officially nominated. Among them were fifteen each from the Progressive National Party (PNP) and the People's Democratic Movement (PDM), five from the newly formed People's Progressive Party (PPP), and two independents.

The below list of candidates comes from the Turks and Caicos Islands Elections Office. Election results were confirmed on November 9, 2012, for local voting districts, and on November 12, 2012, for the at-large seats.

Results

By constituency

Subsequent by-election

PDM candidate Isaac Selver filed an election petition in the Supreme Court regarding the results in Electoral District 7, in which he had lost to Amanda Misick of the PNP by 30 votes. Selver's petition stated that PPP candidate Edward Smith was ineligible to stand for election by reason of his dual citizenship and dual allegiance to the United States and the Turks and Caicos Islands, and that the 58 votes that went to Smith had affected the outcome of the election and could have resulted in Selver's victory over Misick. In a December 2012 interview, Smith claimed that he had renounced U.S. citizenship by taking an oath of allegiance to the Queen in order to take up a position in the Turks and Caicos government. However, he had used his United States passport to travel to the United States in July 2012 after that oath. On 7 February 2013, the Supreme Court ruled the election void. A by-election was held on 22 March 2013. Amanda Misick won with 455 votes against Isaac Selver's 385.

References

References

1. "General Election Results - 9 November 2012".
2. "General Election Results - 9 November 2012".
3. "Turks and Caicos Election Statistics to 1976–2012".
4. "General Election Results - 9 November 2012".
5. "Turks and Caicos Election Statistics to 1976–2012".
6. "General Election Results - 9 November 2012".
7. "Turks and Caicos Islands Elections Department Political Reorganisation and Electoral History".
8. "General Election Results - 9 November 2012".
9. The PNP won the election, winning eight seats with the PDM winning seven.http://suntci.com/pnp-wins-seats-pdm-p435-108.htm{{Dead link. (April 2019)
10. The islands' government was suspended for two years and the British-appointed governor given executive power over the territory.[https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8202339.stm UK imposes Turks and Caicos rule] BBC News, 14 August 2009
11. [http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/news/latest-news/?view=PressS&id=774772682 Foreign Secretary statement announces elections in the Turks and Caicos Islands] Foreign & Commonwealth Office
12. [http://tcweeklynews.com/governor-todd-signs-constitution-proclamation-p2808-127.htm Governor Todd Signs Constitution Proclamation] Turks & Caicos Weekly News Online
13. [http://tcweeklynews.com/political-party-leaders-pleased-with-proposed-boundaries-p2758-1.htm Political Party Leaders Pleased With Proposed Boundaries]. ''[[Turks and Caicos Weekly News]]''
14. with voters able to vote for up to five at-large candidates.{{usurped
15. Tyson, Vivian. (2012-10-12). "Election results will be delayed". Turks & Caicos Sun.
16. Tyson, Vivian. (2012-10-25). "37 candidates nominated". Turks & Caicos Sun.
17. (2012-10-25). "List of nominated candidates for General Elections 2012". Turks & Caicos Islands Elections Office.
18. [http://www.guide2turksandcaicos.com/news/178/Turks-and-Caicos-Islands-Election-Results "Turks and Caicos Islands Election Results"] {{Webarchive. link. (2012-11-16 . ''Guide 2 Turks and Caicos'', 13 November 2012.)
19. [http://tcweeklynews.com/atlarge-results-stand-p3170-1.htm "At-Large results stand"]. ''[[Turks and Caicos Weekly News]]'', 13 November 2012.
20. Tyson, Vivian. (2012-11-26). "Dr. Smith says he renounced US Citizenship". Turks and Caicos Sun.
21. (2013-02-07). "Court declares Provo district election void". TCI News Now.
22. (25 March 2013). "Amanda Missick wins by-election -PNP maintains power". Turks and Caicos Weekly News.