Turks and Caicos Islands Government 2008

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

Dependency status:
overseas territory of the UK

Government type:
NA

Capital:
name: Grand Turk (Cockburn Town)
geographic coordinates: 21 28 N, 71 08 W
time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins first Sunday in April; ends last Sunday in October

Administrative divisions:
none (overseas territory of the UK)

Independence:
none (overseas territory of the UK)

National holiday:
Constitution Day, 30 August (1976)

Constitution:
Turks and Caicos Islands Constitution Order 2006 (effective 9 August 2006)

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 1952); represented by Governor Richard TAUWHARE (since 11 July 2005)
head of government: Premier Michael Eugene MISICK (since 15 August 2003); note - the office of premier was created in the 2006 constitution
cabinet: Cabinet consists of the governor, the premier, six ministers appointed by the governor from among the members of the House of Assembly, and the attorney general
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party is appointed premier by the governor

Legislative branch:
unicameral House of Assembly (21 seats of which 15 are popularly elected; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 9 February 2007 (next to be held in 2011)
election results: percent of vote by party - PNP 60%, PDM 40%; seats by party - PNP 13, PDM 2

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court; Court of Appeal

Political parties and leaders:
People's Democratic Movement or PDM [Floyd SEYMOUR]; 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)