People's Democratic Movement (Turks and Caicos Islands)

The People's Democratic Movement is a political party in the Turks and Caicos Islands founded by James Alexander George Smith McCartney and Lewis Edwin Astwood III. The party is led by the current opposition leader, Edwin Astwood.

People's Democratic Movement
AbbreviationPDM
LeaderEdwin Astwood
ChairpersonPatricia Saunders-Missick
Founded1975
IdeologyConservatism
Christian democracy[1]
Political positionCentre-right[2]
International affiliationInternational Democracy Union
Caribbean Democrat Union[3]
Colours  Blue
  Gold
UK affiliationnone
House of Assembly
1 / 15
Website
pdm.tc

According to the PDM's website, the People's Democratic Movement (PDM) is the oldest established political organization in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Founded in October 1975, the PDM was the first party to be elected to head the Government.

At the 2003 legislative elections, the party won 7 out of 13 seats. It lost two of these seats at a by-election on 7 August 2003. In the 9 February 2007 elections the party won only 2 out of 15 seats.

In July 2012, Oswald Skippings was elected as the leader of the PDM, while Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson defeated Sean Astwood to become the party's first-ever female deputy leader.[4] The party fielded 15 candidates in the 2012 election.[5] On November 9, 2012 the PDM was defeated by the PNP and Oswald Skippings stepped down as leader.

Electoral performance

edit
Election Leader No. of votes Share of votes Seats Result
1976 JAGS McCartney 956 39.8%
5 / 11
Government
(with independents)
1980 Oswald Skippings 1,134 39.6%
3 / 11
Opposition
1984 Clement Howell 1,246 38.8%
3 / 11
Opposition
1988 Oswald Skippings 5,495 59.7%
11 / 13
Government
1991 Oswald Skippings 4,542 48.4%
8 / 13
Opposition
1995 Derek Taylor 2,058 49.9%
8 / 13
Government
1999 Derek Taylor 2,362 52.2%
9 / 13
Government
2003 Derek Taylor 2,747 50.2%
6 / 13
Opposition
2007 Floyd Seymour 2,320 39.1%
2 / 15
Opposition
2012 Oswald Skippings 3,164 44.8%
7 / 15
Opposition
2016 Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson 3,169 51.2%
10 / 15
Government
2021 Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson 2,888 44.7%
1 / 15
Opposition

References

edit
  1. ^ "Elections Manifesto" (PDF). Retrieved 24 December 2020.
  2. ^ "British Turks and Caicos Islands to hold general elections". Foreign Brief. foreignbrief. 18 February 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2021..
  3. ^ "Facebook". www.facebook.com.
  4. ^ "Skippings, Cartwright-Robinson To Lead PDM". Turks and Caicos Free Press. 6 July 2012. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  5. ^ Tyson, Vivian (25 October 2012). "37 candidates nominated". Turks & Caicos Sun. Retrieved 30 October 2012.