At stake in this election:

• 19 seats in the House of Assembly

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: Queen ELIZABETH II *
• Head of Government: Governor Damian (Ric) TODD
• Assembly: Turks and Caicos Islands has a unicameral House of Assembly with 19 seats.

* The Queen is represented by Governor Damian (Ric) TODD

Description of electoral system:

• The Queen is hereditary head of state.
• Governor is appointed by the monarch to serve a 4-year term.
• In the House of Assembly, 10 members are elected by plurality vote in single-member constituencies to serve 4-year terms, 4 members are appointed by the governor to serve 4-year terms and 5 members are elected by plurality vote in multi-member constituencies to serve 4-year terms.***

*** In the House of Assembly, 10 members are elected by simple majority in single-member constituencies, 5 members are elected by plurality in the single All Islands district, and 4 members are appointed by the governor, the government, and the opposition. Two of the four appointed members are selected at the Governor's discretion, and the other two in consultation with the new Premier and Leader of the Opposition. All members serve 4-year terms.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: People's Democratic Movement (PDM)
  • Leader: Oswald O. SKIPPINGS
• Party: Progressive National Party (PNP)
  • Leader: Rufus Washington EWING

Last Parliamentary election:

• This will be the first set of elections since 2007, marking the end of the suspension of elected Government and a period of interim administration through the Governor.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 46,335 (July 2012 est.)
• Registered Voters: 7,337 (November 2012)