1980 Turks and Caicos Islands general election

General elections were held in the Turks and Caicos Islands on 4 November 1980.^[5] The result was a victory for the opposition Progressive National Party (PNP), which won eight of the eleven seats in the Legislative Council.^[5] Following the elections, PNP leader Norman Saunders became Chief Minister.

1980 Turks and Caicos Islands General Election

← 1976 November 4, 1980 (1980-11-04) 1984 →
11 seats in the Legislative Council 6 seats needed for a majority
Registered	3,420[1]
Turnout	2,914 (85.2%)[2]
First party Second party   Leader Norman B. Saunders Sr. Oswald Skippings Party Progressive National Party People's Democratic Movement Leader's seat South Caicos North Grand Turk North Back Salina Seats won 8[3] 3[4] Seat change 4 2 Popular vote 1,724 1,134 Percentage 59.2% 38.9%
Chief Minister before election Oswald Skippings People's Democratic Movement Chief Minister after Election Norman B. Saunders Sr. Progressive National Party

Electoral system

The eleven members of the Legislative Council were elected from single-member constituencies.^[5]

Campaign

A total of 24 candidates contested the elections, with the PNP and People's Democratic Movement (PDM) running in all eleven constituencies. The other two candidates were independents.^[5]

Results

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Progressive National Party	1,724	59.51	8	+4
	People's Democratic Movement	1,134	39.14	3	–2
	Independents	39	1.35	0	–2
Total		2,897	100.00	11	0
Valid votes		2,897	99.42
Invalid/blank votes		17	0.58
Total votes		2,914	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		3,420	85.20
Source: Caribbean Elections