By the time the next edition of this weekly publication appears, February 7, 2025, the electorate of Turks and Caicos Islands would have kept their decisive date with destiny and elected a new government to administer this country’s affairs for the next five years.
It is easily and widely accepted by political observers, that there is no discernible ideological difference between the Progressive National Party (PNP) and the People’s Democratic Movement (PDM).
Yet, in keeping with traditions practised by major newspapers around the globe, we are fully convinced that the time has come for us to go beyond our routine journalistic responsibility of reporting and reflecting, to one of guiding and leading the society in the prized act of demonstrated democracy, and exercise our democratic and journalistic right to endorse a political leader.
We readily admit to our awareness that in the first-past-the-post electoral parliamentary system, the electorate in Turks and Caicos Islands does not directly vote for a head of government, the premier in our case.
Still, this does not in any way negate or deny, the subliminal pivotal role leadership plays in determining for whom the electorate votes in a contest between and among political parties. That being so, we therefore had to look for other determining factors upon which to base our findings.
There’s a choice between Mr. Edwin Astwood, leader of the PDM and Mr. Washington Misick who heads the PNP.
Mr. Astwood, who has been in elective politics and a Member of Parliament since 2012, served as a minister of health for four years and opposition leader since 2021.
Mr. Astwood’s political resume is tiny. He is not known to have made any speeches of significance or impact in Parliament over the past 13 years. He will, perhaps, be best remembered as the only opposition leader in the history of Turks and Caicos Islands, who refused to reply to a budget speech. The number of parliamentary questions he has asked in the House of Assembly in four years can be counted on one hand.
Mr. Astwood is an intelligent man and a brilliant scientist, but as minister of health between 2016 and 2021, his performance was less than spectacular.
Although he has had three consecutive wins in the 2012, 2016 and 2021 general elections, the statistics show that his popularity has been fluctuating. Still, we predict Mr. Astwood will win the Grand Turk South seat for a fourth consecutive term.
Regarded as the safest PDM seat in the country, the constituency has been his comfort zone. Mr. Astwood, despite his public utterances, has not mustered the courage to run At-Large. He is the only leader of a major political party not to have done so, since the At-Large system was introduced. It is therefore difficult, if not impossible, to test and judge his popularity nationally.
Meantime, he has, at his own doing, chalked up an unenviable record as serial blunderer, lurching from one foul-up to the next.�
In a nutshell, we believe Mr. Astwood’s profile does not demonstrate convincing, exemplary leadership skills. To this end, we do not believe he is capable or sufficiently competent to lead Turks and Caicos Islands at this time. From our vantage, there are others within his party who are far better equipped for that role.
In stark contrast, there is Mr. Misick, who, in our view, clearly and heavily outstrips and outpaces Mr. Astwood, in the high stakes leadership derby. Mr. Misick is a known quantity who radiates that intangible but yet noticeably palpable quality of gravitas.
While by no means perfect, Mr. Misick to his personal dignity, seriousness and presence, has over time chalked up an enviable performance record in active politics, and a proven track record of understanding and navigating the dynamics of governing since first becoming chief minister in 1991.
Serving as premier since February 2021, he has also been opposition leader and served with distinction in various ministerial portfolios over time. In summary, Mr. Misick is seen as a well-rounded and effective builder of institutions and relationships and projects far more strengths than weaknesses.
Even with his faults and age, Mr. Misick strikes us as far and away a much stronger leader than Mr. Astwood. At 74-years-old, Mr. Misick is thoughtful, thorough, analytical, trustworthy, intelligent, capable, competent, reasonable, compassionate. Widely respected and highly regarded in the Caribbean and throughout the world, we say with confident certainty that Mr. Misick is the only statesman who is contesting the upcoming elections on either the PDM or PNP tickets.
The only one.
As minister of finance in this and the former administration under Dr. Rufus Ewing, he has demonstrated a measured approach to fiscal management, with more prudent skills in this crucial area than he gets credit for.
These are particularly serious times in TCI which require strong, serious leadership. We firmly believe that Washington Misick, given his proven, strong, steady and decisive leadership, is well placed and suited to be just the right leader for such times as these.
The Premier is the most important job in this country and this critical juncture of TCI’s development absolutely requires a safe pair of hands, robust leadership and management skills and real solutions to the existing challenges and problems.
It is one thing to mount a political platform on an election campaign trail and rattle off a host of catchy but unrealistic campaign promises that are pregnant with fluff and repetitive catch phrases that are unfriendly to facts.
It is a different matter altogether when it comes to taking the reins of a developing country and navigating the challenges that come with the monumental responsibility of ensuring good governance is balanced with prosperity, stability and safety.
Thus, from fair, balanced and objective assessment of available factors, there is, hands down, only one serious choice to be Premier of Turks and Caicos Islands at this time.
That person is Mr. Charles Washington Misick and we endorse him.
