SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) – The Turks and Caicos Islands’ ruling party has captured all but two of the 15 seats in parliamentary elections after a bitter campaign against the British territory’s opposition, which alleged widespread corruption by governing officials.

The Progressive National Party, under the leadership of Premier Michael Misick, emerged victorious in Friday’s general elections, capturing 13 of 15 electoral seats, the British Caribbean territory’s government announced yesterday after tallying votes.

Misick, who led the party to victory in 2003 after eight years in the opposition, will become premier for his second term since the chief of the victorious party automatically becomes the islands’ leader.

The ruling party, which touted vibrant economic growth under its leadership, captured all of the seats in fast-growing Providenciales, Middle Caicos, South Caicos and North Caicos islands.

It split the four seats in the capital of Grand Turk with the People’s Democratic Movement, the only Opposition party in the Turks and Caicos Islands, an eight-island dependency located between Haiti and the Bahamas and about 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) south-east of Miami.

The Opposition, led by party chief Floyd Seymour, alleged that wealthy expatriates were buying land in backroom deals with Misick’s Government. They also maintained the economy is languishing and that the lack of good jobs was forcing young people to leave the islands.

Nearly half of the territory’s roughly 35,000 residents are foreigners – including expatriates from Canada and the United States, and thousands of poorer Haitians, Jamaicans and Dominicans. Native islanders have long maintained they are given short shrift with jobs and resources.

The islands’ primary industries are tourism, offshore banking and fishing. As a British territory, the islands have a governor appointed by the British Government who heads an Executive Council of both elected and appointed representatives. The islands are largely self-governing but defer to Britain in issues of defence, security and foreign affairs.