Turks and Caicos Islands Government Profile 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: 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)

Flag description

blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the colonial shield centered on the outer half of the flag; the shield is yellow and contains a conch shell, lobster, and cactus