By: Staff Writer
February 23, 2021
The votes have been cast in last Friday’s general election in the Turks and Caicos as the nation sent the former People’s Democratic Movement (PDM) government home in a landslide for the Progressive National Party(PNP).
Supporters of the PDM were stunned on election night in the TCI when the results started coming in with constituency after constituency was gone as the now governing PNP led by the country’s former chief minister and now premier, Washington Misick, takes the helm of the country.
Mr Misick is the older brother of the infamous former first premier Michael Misick, who was thrown out on his ear after a famous Commission of Inquiry into his government forcing the younger Misick to leave the country for South America, only to be tracked down and brought back to the territory to face the music.
The PDM on the other hand only picked up one of the 15 seats up for grabs, with that being Edwin Astwood who won the Grand Turk South.
Not even the country’s first female premier, Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson, held her seat as she too was sent packing.
The seat tally was 14 for the PNP and 1 for the PDM.
CARICOM observed the elections on Friday and held that they were free and fair.
The TCI Governor confirmed that 76 percent of eligible voters participated in yesterday’s general election.
Governor Nigel Dakin said the highest turnout was in North and Middle Caicos (86 percent) and South Caicos (85 percent). The lowest turnout was in the Providenciales constituencies of Blue Hills (65 percent) and Cheshire Hall (69 percent).
Other observers suggested that it was the mixture of the COVID-19 pandemic and the former government’s handling of it is what caused the voters to turn away from Ms Cartwright-Robinson. However, the PDM’s only seat was won by Mr Astwood, who was the minister of health during the crisis.
This defeat follows the likes of similar landslide victories across the region over the last five years and it may just be the sign of an electorate who are taking their votes seriously. But for whatever reason, we welcome the new TCI premier, the Honourable Washington Misick and we congratulate the PNP on their well-deserved victory.