Caricom is concerned about the recent decision of the British Government to postpone indefinitely general elections in the Turks and Caicos Islands; thereby perpetuating its influence over the island nation.
In a press release Caricom said the elections were due to be held in July 2011. “This decision will result in the continuation of the imposition of direct rule from London for an undetermined period and, consequently, in a delay in the return to constitutional government,” it said, in a press release.
Caricom said this development reinforces its view that the imposition of direct rule is totally at odds with the development of good governance, including improved fiscal and administrative management, in the Turks and Caicos Islands – the professed aim of the policy of the British Government. “That objective cannot be met by the continued disenfranchisement of the Turks and Caicos Islanders, by the denial of their inalienable right to shape their own future nor by the artificial widening of the voter base,” the release said.
Good political and fiscal governance cannot be handed down but must be moulded by the people of the territory, Caricom said. Therefore, it calls once again for Britain’s rule of the territory to be replaced by self rule and for a return to democracy for the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands, an Associate Member of the Caribbean Community.
