with islanders gaining full British citizenship. A new constitution was promulgated in 2006; however in 2009 Premier Michael Misick resigned in the face of corruption charges, and the United Kingdom took over direct control of the government. A new constitution was promulgated in October 2012 and the government was returned to full local administration after the November 2012 elections. In 2010 the leaders of The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands discussed the possibility of forming a federation. In the 2016 elections, Rufus Ewing's Progressive National Party (PNP) lost for the first time since they replaced Derek Hugh Taylor's government in 2003. The People's Democratic Movement (PDM) came to power with Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson as Premier. She was replaced by Washington Misick after the Progressive National Party won the 2021 general elections. Geography and environment The two island groups are in the North Atlantic Ocean about north of Hispaniola and about from Miami in the United States, at . The territory is geographically contiguous to the Bahamas, both comprising the Lucayan Archipelago, but is politically a separate entity. The Caicos Islands are separated by the Caicos Passage from the closest Bahamian islands, Mayaguana and Great Inagua. The nearest foreign landmass from the Turks and Caicos Islands is the Bahamian island of Little Inagua, about 30 miles (48 km) from West Caicos. The eight main islands and more than 22 smaller islands have a total land area of , consisting primarily of low, flat limestone with extensive marshes and mangrove swamps and of beach front. The tallest peaks in the islands are Blue Hills on Providenciales and Flamingo Hill on East Caicos, both at a modest 48 m. The weather is usually sunny (it is generally regarded that the islands receive 350 days of sun each year) and relatively dry, but suffers frequent hurricanes. The islands have limited natural fresh water resources; private cisterns collect rainwater for drinking. The primary natural resources are spiny lobster, conch, and other shellfish. Turks and Caicos contains three terrestrial ecoregions: Bahamian dry forests, Bahamian pineyards, and Bahamian-Antillean mangroves. The two distinct island groups are separated by the Turks Island Passage. Turks Islands The Turks Islands are separated from the Caicos Islands by Turks Island Passage, which is more than deep. The islands form a chain that stretches north–south. The 2012 census population was 4,939 on the two main islands, the only inhabited islands of the