House of Assembly (Turks and Caicos Islands)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
House of Assembly
Type
Type
Leadership
Gordon Burton, PNP
since 5 March 2021
Leader of the Opposition
Structure
Seats21
15 elected members
4 appointed
2 ex officio
Political groups
Government (14)
  •   PNP (14)

Opposition (1)

Others (5)

Elections
Last election
19 February 2021
Next election
2026
Meeting place
Cockburn Town, Turks and Caicos Islands

The House of Assembly is the legislature of the British Overseas Territory of the Turks and Caicos Islands. The name of the house was changed from the Legislative Council of the Turks and Caicos Islands to its present name following the implementation of the new constitution on 9 August 2006.

In August 2009, the United Kingdom suspended the Turks and Caicos' self-government after allegations of ministerial corruption. The prerogative of the ministerial government and the House of Assembly were vested in the islands' governor until a general election was held in November 2012.[1]

Composition[edit]

The House of Assembly has 21 members in total. Formerly, 15 members were elected for a four-year term in single-seat constituencies (of which 11 lay in the Caicos Islands and 4 in the Turks Islands), while 3 members sat ex officio, 3 were appointed members and a speaker was chosen from outside the house.

Although the number of elected representatives to the body was not changed during the 2009-12 suspension of self-government, the composition was changed so that ten of the 15 elected representatives are elected to individual districts, while five are now elected at-large.

Consultative Forum (2009-2012)[edit]

Following the suspension of self-government in August 2009, the Governor assembled a Consultative Forum for the Turks and Caicos Islands to advise him on legislation relating to the territory. The forum consisted of the Chief Executive, the Attorney-General, the Permanent Secretary for Finance, and eleven to fifteen representatives of the community, appointed by the Governor. The council could make non-binding recommendations to the Governor about bills that were presented to it and on policies that were referred to it.[2] The chair of the Consultative Forum was Lillian Missick.[3] The forum disbanded in November 2012 upon the election of a new House of Assembly following restoration of self-government to the islands.

Election results[edit]

General election results, 2021

Party District At-large Total
seats
+/–
Votes % Seats Votes % Seats
Progressive National Party 3,572 55.29 9 17,105 56.25 5 14 +9
People's Democratic Movement 2,888 44.71 1 12,127 39.88 0 1 –9
Progressive Democratic Alliance 89 0.29 0 0 0
Independents 1,090 3.58 0 0 0
Invalid/blank votes
Total 6,460 100 10 30,411 100 5 15 -
Registered voters/turnout 8,776 73.61 43,880 69.30
Source: Elections Department RTC, gov.tc

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Britain suspends Turks and Caicos government". Reuters. 14 August 2009. Retrieved 2021-12-14.
  2. ^ "Consultative Forum". www.gov.tc. Archived from the original on 19 April 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  3. ^ "UKOTA - UK Overseas Territories Association". Archived from the original on 2016-10-06. Retrieved 2012-02-27.