By: Staff Writer
February 16, 2021
The opposition Progressive National Party (PNP) is looking for a solid win in the upcoming Turks and Caicos general election this coming Friday.
Akierra Missick, incumbent for the PNP for the Leeward & Long Bay constituency, told Caribbean Magazine Plus that the country is showing “great support” for the PNP, but for her personally her continued ground game is showing more positive results than when she won in 2016.
She said: “I think we can seal the deal and call it George on Saturday when the final votes are counted, and move this country forward.”
The TCI General Election will be held on Friday, February 19, 2021. Opposition leader Washington Misick will try to unseat the current prime minister and leader of the governing People’s Democratic Movement (PDM), Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson, will lead the PDM.
There are also several other independent or “at large” candidates in this upcoming election as well.
There has not been any issues with campaigning during the COVID-19 pandemic either Ms Missick said, because everyone has been “sensible” with their approach with going door to door. “On our side, we’re wearing our masks, we’re standing 6 feet apart and we’re carrying our hand sanitizer, I would say that we’ve had to increase our Kelly canvassing because of safety reasons because you don’t want to go in and out of people’s homes and bring something in with you or pick something up while there.”
The online campaigning has also been an integral part of the PNP’s strategy this year because of the COVID-19 as there has been a lot of “virtual rallies,” where Ms Missick sees this as an opportunity to reach more people who would otherwise be afraid to come out to show their support for a political party because of victimisation and being labelled.
Ms Missick also said: “people can watch events at their leisure person who may not want their political affiliation to be known by the world can also watch it in the comfort of their home, log in on their computers. So I think it’s been a different vibe.”
Despite the use of virtual rallies currently, the PNP has help 12 in person rallies form August of last year in the run up for the eventual election this year. Ms Missick told us that they knew the election had to come and they decided not to wait on the government to move, considering they are the opposition and they have a lot of time to strategize and get things moving, “We have to show the people that are ready to take over and work for them,” she said.
Kyle Knowles, candidate for the PNP for the Wheeland and West Caicos constituency, on the other hand understands he has a challenge on his hands having to unseat his incumbent challenger, Vaden Delroy Williams of the PDM, who has held the seat since 2016 and won it by garnering 60 percent of the vote. Mr Williams has held this seat for four non consecutive terms.
The PNP has only won this seat once in its electoral history in, 2007 Mr Knowles acknowledged, but he said: “People are telling me to keep working. There are definitely possibilities for you and things are looking good. You might stand a chance and stay positive and work until the last hour”
Mr Knowles, who has fashioned himself as a new generation politician, also said: “Because I am going up against an incumbent. I’m not taking anything for granted.”
“Hard work is what I depend on and my faith is what keeps me going,” Mr Knowles said.
Mr Knowles too said that he has “upped” his social media campaigning due to the COVID-19 restrictions on social gatherings, particularly since there was a national curfew put in place from 6pm to 6am.