The 1995 General Election – Return to One Man, One Vote

By Dr. Carlton Mills

 

Election Overview

The 1995 general election was held on February 2, 1995. It marked a major turning point in the country’s electoral history, as the system returned to one-man, one-vote after two consecutive elections under the multi-constituency model. Under that earlier system, voters could cast multiple votes for candidates of their choice. The multi-constituency system had been introduced following Sir Roy Marshall’s 1986 Report.

Dr. Carlton Mills

Return to Single-Member Constituencies

Another major feature of the 1995 election was the return to individual member constituencies. Under the previous multi-member system, there were five constituencies sharing thirteen seats. In 1995, the total number of seats remained at thirteen, but they were redistributed across thirteen separate constituencies.

Key Boundary Changes

Several important boundary changes accompanied this shift:

·       Salt Cay, which had been attached to Grand Turk (South) since 1988, was restored as a separate constituency, as it had been in the 1976, 1980, and 1984 general elections.

·       South Caicos retained two seats, once again divided into South Caicos (North) and South Caicos (South).

·       Middle Caicos was separated from North Caicos and returned to a single-seat constituency.

·       North Caicos was divided into North Caicos (East), including Bottle Creek, and North Caicos (West), including Kew, Whitby, and Sandy Point, as had been the case before 1988.

·       Grand Turk retained four seats, but instead of being labeled as districts, the constituencies were named West Road, Over Back, North Back Salina, and South Back Salina.

·       Providenciales gained an additional seat, bringing its total to three, with The Bight, Blue Hills, and Five Cays each becoming separate constituencies.

The Shift

The Electoral Boundaries Commission was established in December 1993 and formalized by proclamation on January 6, 1995. The move to single-member constituencies was enacted through the Turks and Caicos Islands Constitution (Amendment) Order 1993, which took effect on June 11, 1993. This reform was intended to strengthen localized representation and reduce problems such as voter intimidation in smaller multi-member areas, as identified by the 1986 Constitutional Commission.

For the 1995 election, the thirteen constituencies were organized as follows:

·       Grand Turk: West Road, Overback, North Backsalina, and South Backsalina

·       Salt Cay: Fifth Constituency

·       South Caicos: South Caicos (North) and South Caicos (South)

·       Middle Caicos: Eighth Constituency

·       North Caicos: North Caicos (East), including Bottle Creek, and North Caicos (West), including Kew, Whitby, and Sandy Point

·       Providenciales: Constituencies 11, 12, and 13, representing The Bight, Blue Hills, and Five Cays

These boundaries were drawn to better reflect population distribution across the islands, replacing the broader multi-member groupings used under the earlier system.

Political Contest and Candidates

The 1995 election also marked a change in the political landscape. Since the 1988 election, no new political parties had been formed, and no independent candidates had contested seats. That changed in 1995.

The two established parties—the People’s National Party (PNP), which formed the government at the time, and the People’s Democratic Movement (PDM)—each fielded a full slate of thirteen candidates. In total, thirty-eight candidates contested the election.

A new party, the United Democratic Party (UDP), also entered the race under the leadership of Mr. Wendell Swann, a former Minister in the 1988 PDM government. He and another former affiliate broke away to form the party, although the UDP was able to contest only four seats.

Seven independent candidates also entered the election.

Among the most notable candidates was Mr. Norman Saunders, who returned to contest the election after his confinement in the United States. Not selected by the party he had helped to form; he chose to run as an independent aligned with the PNP.

Voter Participation

A total of 5,432 voters were registered for the election. Of these, 4,197 voted, producing a turnout rate of 76.8 percent. The election recorded 4,117 valid votes and 80 invalid ballots, continuing the islands’ pattern of strong voter participation.

Election Results by Constituency

GRAND TURK

Grand Turk (West Road)

West Road had 457 registered voters, with 371 ballots cast for a turnout of 81.18 percent. There were 17 spoiled ballots.

The PNP candidate, Clayton E. Been, received 142 votes, or 38.27 percent. He was defeated by Larry Coalbrooke of the PDM, who won 212 votes, or 57.14 percent.

Overback

Overback had 403 registered voters, with 318 ballots cast for a turnout of 78.91 percent. There were 4 spoiled ballots.

The PNP leader, Mr. Washington Misick, was returned with 204 votes, or 64.15 percent. His opponent, Mrs. Lillian Misick of the PDM, received 110 votes, or 34.59 percent. This was Mr. Misick’s second consecutive victory in Grand Turk.

North Backsalina

North Backsalina had 460 registered voters, with 369 ballots cast for a turnout of 80.22 percent. There were 8 spoiled ballots.

Oswald Skippings of the PDM again emerged victorious, winning 61.78 percent of the vote. His PNP opponent, Cecil A. Ingham, received 141 votes, or 38.21 percent. This continued Mr. Skippings’ winning streak since the 1976 general election. This made Mr. Skippings fifth consecutive election victory.

South Backsalina

South Backsalina, the largest constituency in Grand Turk, had 471 registered voters. Of these, 383 voted, producing a turnout of 81.32 percent—the highest in Grand Turk. There were 0 spoiled ballots reported.

The PDM candidate and new party leader, Mr. Hugh Derek Taylor, won 220 votes, or 57.44 percent. His PNP rival, Oswald Williams, received 163 votes, or 42.55 percent. Mr. Williams had previously been a staunch supporter of the PDM before switching to the PNP.

Among all Grand Turk candidates, Mr. Skippings recorded the highest vote share, with 61.78 percent.

SALT CAY

Salt Cay had 101 registered voters, of whom 92 voted, producing a turnout of 91.09 percent.

The PNP candidate, Ms. Arabella Smith, was again victorious with 53 votes, or 57.6 percent. Her PDM opponent (and longtime candidate) Mr. Leon Wilson, received 39 votes, or 42.39 percent. The UDP also fielded a candidate, Mr. Gerald Simmons, but he did not receive any votes.

SOUTH CAICOS

South Caicos (North)

South Caicos (North) had 338 registered voters, with 273 ballots cast for a turnout of 80.77 percent. There were 8 spoiled ballots.

The PNP candidate, Mrs. Emily Saunders, won with 173 votes, or 63.36 percent. Her PDM opponent, William Thomas, received 100 or 36.63 percent of the vote.

South Caicos (South)

South Caicos (South) had 358 registered voters, with 296 ballots cast for a turnout of 82.68 percent. There were 7 spoiled ballots.

The PNP incumbent, Mr. Alden Durham, a former Minister in the PNP administration, received 106 votes. His PDM rival, Mr. Lewis Cox, who returned after sitting out the 1991 general election, received 71 votes, or 23.98 percent. This was Mr. Cox’s fourth attempt at trying to win a seat in the electoral process in South Caicos.

Mr. Norman Saunders ran as an independent candidate and won with 112 votes, or 37.83 percent, defeating Mr. Durham by 6 votes. This was the first victory by an independent candidate since 1976.

MIDDLE CAICOS

Middle Caicos had 237 registered voters. Turnout reached 81.01 percent, with 5 spoiled ballots and 45 registered voters not voting.

The constituency again featured the familiar contest between Mr. Samuel Harvey of the PDM and Mr. Robert Hall. Mr. Harvey won with 106 votes, or 55.2 percent, while Mr. Hall received 86 votes, or 44.79 percent.

This was Mr. Harvey’s second victory over Mr. Hall, although Mr. Hall still led their overall series of contests by three wins to two.

NORTH CAICOS

North Caicos (East)

North Caicos (East) had 527 registered voters, with 394 ballots cast for a turnout of 74.76 percent. There was 1 spoiled ballot.

The incumbent, former Minister Mr. Michael Misick of the PNP, won with 239 votes, or 74.36 percent. His opponent, Mr. Llewlyn Handfield of the PDM, also a former Minister in the PDM’s 1988 administration, received 153 votes, or 38.83 percent.

Independent candidate Mr. Hubert James received 2 votes, or 0.5 percent.

North Caicos (West)

North Caicos (West) had 280 registered voters, almost half the number recorded in North Caicos (East). A total of 245 voters cast ballots, producing a turnout of 87.5 percent.

The seat was contested by two brothers from opposing political parties, both of whom had roots in the constituency. Mr. Clarence Selver of the PDM won with 150 votes, or 61.22 percent, defeating his brother, Mr. Royal Robinson of the PNP, who received 95 votes, or 38.77 percent.

PROVIDENCIALES

The Bight

In this election, Providenciales was granted three seats each in a settlement.

In the Bight there was 504 registered voters with a voter turnout of 335 or 66.47% and 2 spoiled ballots. Mr. Oneal Delancy (PDM) gained 196 or 58.9% of the votes. Mr. Christopher Stubbs (PNP) 116 or 34.62% and Independent Candidate, Dr. Euan Menzies (now deceased) gaining 4 votes or 1.19% and the UDP candidate, Mr. Willette Swann gaining 13 or 3.88% of the votes.

In Blue Hills, there were 603 registered voters with a voter turnout of 430 or 71.31%. This constituency also saw three candidates contesting this seat.  Incumbent Mr. Hilly Ewing (PDM) gained 218 or 50.6% of the votes, Mr. Albert Grant (PNP) 165 or 38.37% and UDP candidate and leader, Mr. Wendall Swann, 37 or 8.6% of the votes.

Finally, Five Cays had a total voter registration of 693 voters with 473 or 68.25% voter turnout. Both the PDM and PNP featured two new candidates for this election.  The PDM candidate Mr. Staven Rigby gained 255 or 54.91% of the votes to his PNP rival, Ms. Lillian Been with 204 or 43.12% of the votes.

Observations

Several key observations can be drawn from the 1995 general election.

Leadership and Party Performance

The PDM entered the election under new leadership, with Mr. Hugh D. Taylor at the helm. After losing the 1991 general election to the PNP, the party returned to power in 1995, winning eight seats to the PNP’s four, with one seat going to an independent candidate, Mr. Norman Saunders, in South Caicos (South).

Shortly after the election, Mr. Saunders rejoined the PNP, the party he had helped to found. Under Mr. Taylor’s leadership, the PDM increased its position by three seats compared with the 1991 result.

The PDM won three of the four constituencies in Grand Turk, as well as Middle Caicos, North Caicos (West), and all three seats in Providenciales. The remaining seats were won by the PNP. The UDP performed poorly, and none of its candidates secured enough votes to qualify for reimbursement. After six general elections, it was clear that the Turks and Caicos Islands remained committed mainly to the two established political parties.

Turnout and Popular Vote

Salt Cay recorded the highest voter turnout at 91.09 percent, while The Bight had the lowest at 66.47 percent.

In the popular vote, the PDM received 2,058 votes, or 49.99 percent; the PNP received 1,887 votes, or 45.83 percent; and independent candidates received 172 votes, or 4.18 percent. Of the independent total, Norman Saunders accounted for 112 votes in his winning effort.

Historical Significance

The 1995 election was the sixth general election since the introduction of Ministerial Government. The PDM had won in 1976 after two independent candidates aligned with the party to form a majority. The PNP then won the 1980 and 1984 elections, while the PDM returned in 1988 with a landslide victory but lost in 1991. Its success in 1995 meant that, after six general elections, the two major parties were tied with three victories each.

The election also marked Mr. Hugh D. Taylor’s emergence as the fifth individual to hold the office of Chief Minister. It further meant that three officeholders had come from the PDM and three from the PNP.

Notable Results

Mr. Michael Misick of the PNP recorded the highest vote share in the election, with 74.36 percent. At the other end of the scale, UDP candidate Mr. Gerald Simmons received no votes. Mr. Norman Saunders was the only independent candidate to win a seat.

Regional Patterns

Despite the PNP’s overall defeat, the party remained strong in Grand Turk through its candidate Mr. Washington Misick. Although Providenciales gained additional representation, all three seats there were won by the PDM.  It is also believed that after winning the election in 1991, during his term in office (1991 – 1995), Mr. Misick made a significant number of civil servants redundant, hence his defeat being a bittersweet moment for redundant civil servants.

In South Caicos, Mr. Norman Saunders’ victory over PNP incumbent Mr. Alden Durham could also be viewed as an indirect success for the PNP, given his later return to the party.

Following this election, the country waited in anticipation to see what plans the new Chief Minister, Hon. Hugh Derek Taylor would unfold, and how he would address the unemployment state of those who were made redundant.  Furthermore, Hon. Taylor was seen as an honest man, a man of integrity and above all else, god-fearing. To many, these were the qualities that they wanted in a leader.

Dr. Carlton Mills is a historian and a former minister of education, and former vice president of the TCI Community College