Turks and Caicos Islands Government - 2005

Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Turks and Caicos Islands

Dependency status:
overseas territory of the UK

Government type:
NA

Capital:
Grand Turk

Administrative divisions:
none (overseas territory of the UK)

Independence:
none (overseas territory of the UK)

National holiday:
Constitution Day, 30 August (1976)

Constitution:
introduced 30 August 1976; suspended in 1986; restored and revised 5 March 1988

Legal system:
based on laws of England and Wales, with a few adopted from Jamaica and The Bahamas

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1953), represented by Governor Richard TAUWHARE (since 11 July 2005)
head of government: Chief Minister Michael Eugene MISICK (since 15 August 2003)
cabinet: Executive Council consists of three ex officio members and five appointed by the governor from among the members of the Legislative Council
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party is appointed chief minister by the governor

Legislative branch:
unicameral Legislative Council (19 seats of which 13 are popularly elected; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 24 April 2003 (next to be held in 2007)
election results: percent of vote by party - PDM 53.8%, PNP 46.2%; seats by party - PDM 7, PNP 6; note - in by-elections held 7 August 2003, the PNP gained two seats for a majority of 8 seats; PDM now has 5

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders:
People's Democratic Movement or PDM [Derek H. TAYLOR]; Progressive National Party or PNP [Michael Eugene MISICK]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), UPU

Diplomatic representation in the US:
none (overseas territory of the UK)

Diplomatic representation from the US:
none (overseas territory of the UK)