Led by businessman Charles Washington Misick, the Progressive National Party (PNP) obtained a landslide 14 to 1 victory over the incumbent People’s Democratic Movement (PDM) in the Turks and Caicos Islands general elections on Friday, February 19th, 2021.
Supervisor of Elections Dudley Lewis confirmed on Saturday, January 20th that the PNP won 9 of the 10 electoral district seats and all 5 of the At Large seats.
Misick, 70, is a former chief minister of the Turks and Caicos from 1991 to 1995 and the brother of former premier Michael Misick.
The PDM, in a major defeat, saw their leader, Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson losing her seat. Cartwright-Robinson, an attorney, was elected the country’s first female premier in 2016. She is also the first woman ever to become deputy head of the People’s Democratic Movement; and the first woman to become Leader of the Opposition in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Former health minister Edwin Astwood is the only successful PDM candidate who has won a seat.
In a statement on Saturday, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) said the CARICOM Elections Observation Mission (CEOM), which monitored the polls, had reported that the process was free and fair “and the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands must be commended for this.”
“The peacefulness of the elections that transpired on 19 February 2021 reflected the tranquillity of the society of the Turks and Caicos Islands,” said the CEOM team.