The Progressive National Party is a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

in the

Turks and Caicos Islands The Turks and Caicos Islands (abbreviated TCI; and ) are a British Overseas Territory consisting of the larger Caicos Islands and smaller Turks Islands, two groups of tropical islands in the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean and ...

, currently led by Washington Misick. The PNP holds 14 of the 15 seats in the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony adm ...

and has been the government since 20 Feb 2021.

History

''More Information
The PNP: A History
'

Origins

Before party politics was introduced in the Turks and Caicos, a group called the Progressive National Organisation (PNO) was advocating for constitutional reform that would allow for local people to be elected to government roles to represent themselves rather than the old system of UK appointees having the final say in all matters. The advocates for these changes included Hon. NJS Francis and Headley Durham of

Grand Turk Grand Turk Island is an island in the Turks and Caicos Islands. It is the largest island in the Turks Islands (the smaller of the two archipelagos that make up the island territory) with . Grand Turk contains the territory's capital, Cockburn To ...

; Alexander Henry "Shorty" Smith of Salt Cay; Hon. Hilly Ewing of

Providenciales Providenciales (known locally as Provo) is an island in the northwest Caicos Islands, part of the Turks and Caicos Islands, a British Overseas Territory. The island has an area of and a 2012 Census population of 23,769. Providenciales is the la ...

; Charles Nathaniel Misick of

North Caicos North Caicos is the second-largest island in the Turks and Caicos Islands (after Middle Caicos). To the west, the Caicos Cays (the closest is Parrot Cay) link to Providenciales. To the east, it is separated from Middle Caicos by Juniper Hole, a ...

; and Dan Malcolm and Hon. Norman Saunders of

South Caicos South Caicos is the seventh-largest island in the Turks and Caicos Islands, Turks and Caicos archipelago, with a land area of . South Caicos is known for excellent fishing, both deep-sea and bone fishing, and scuba diving. South Caicos was former ...

. These men would go on to be the founding members of the PNO and subsequently petitioned, organised, and paid for the 1976 constitution that made party politics possible and made a big step towards the autonomy and independence they all longed for.

Electoral history

1976 election

Once the constitution was in full effect, the PNO became the Progressive National Party and Norman Saunders was elected leader of the party. Neither the PNP nor the opposing party, People's Democratic Movement (PDM), won the election as six (6) seats were necessary to declare victory. The PDM had won five and the PNP won four and two seats were held by independent candidates. Liam McGuire of South Caicos, one of the independent candidates, approached the PNP alongside Danny Williams of North Caicos requesting to be given the role of Minister of Development in exchange for joining the party and giving them the seats needed to secure the victory. The PNP unanimously declined as they saw McGuire as a "foreigner''"'' who ''"''should not hold a permanent office in the government." McGuire refused to take a non-ministerial role and, with Williams, joined the PDM making them the first government of the TCI.

2003 election

At the 2003

legislative A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

, the party won six out of 13 seats. It won two extra seats at a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election ( Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to ...

on 7 August 2003, bringing the party to power.

2007 election

In the 9 February 2007

the party won 13 out of 15 seats, the largest margin in history until the 2021 general election.

2016 election

Their 2016 election opponents were the People's Democratic Movement and the Progressive Democratic Alliance.

Electoral performance

References

External links

Official web site
__FORCETOC__ Political parties in the Turks and Caicos Islands Christian democratic parties in North America {{TurksCaicos-stub