GRAND TURK, Turks and Caicos Islands; Thursday, June 11th, 2009 – “In a statement issued this morning, the Premier announced that he had asked me today to prorogue the House of Assembly from 21 August 2009, to dissolve the House on 1 October 2009 and to set 22 October 2009 for the holding of General Elections.
Section 55(1) of the TCI Constitution requires that the Governor act in accordance with the advice of the Premier with regard to prorogation of the House. However, under Section 55(2) of the Constitution, dissolution of the House is a matter for the Governor to decide after consultation with the Premier, but not necessarily in accordance with his advice.
Having discussed this matter today with the Premier and Deputy Premier, and having also consulted the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London, I have decided not to accede to the request that I dissolve the House.
The Final Report of the Commission of Inquiry is being considered by UK Ministers. Following the publication of the Interim Report, they and I made clear that the Order in Council suspending parts of the Constitution would be brought into force if the Final Report did not significantly change our assessment of the situation.
Until a decision has been taken on entry into force of the Order in Council, therefore, any decision on the dissolution of the House would be premature and inappropriate.”
Gordon Wetherell
Governor
