THE HAGUE–The decision to hold elections in St. Maarten in September 2016 is an internal matter and a responsibility of the local government, Dutch Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk informed the Dutch Parliament on Monday.
“The preparations and the process of the elections are the responsibility of the St. Maarten Government. The Kingdom Government has no role in this,” stated Plasterk in his update about the political situation on the island. The brief letter was dated last Friday and released on Monday.
The Minister explained that St. Maarten Governor Eugene Holiday on December 14, 2015 signed the National Decree of October 29, 2015 to dissolve Parliament on October 31, 2016, preceded by the elections for a new Parliament on September 26, 2016. In an earlier letter last month, Plasterk had already indicated that this concerned an internal matter to be handled by the local institutions.
The Permanent Committee for Kingdom Relations of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament on November 25, 2015 had asked Plasterk for an update on the current situation in St. Maarten following political/constitutional crisis late September this year. The Committee requested special attention to safeguard a transparent election process and the possible role of the Kingdom in this.
Members of the Kingdom Relations Committee, mainly Ronald van Raak of the Socialist Party (SP), André Bosman of the liberal democratic VVD party and Roelof van Laar of the Labour Party PvdA, have expressed concerns about the reports that the current Coalition of Eight wanted to delay the elections in favour of electoral reform.
During a meeting last month, Van Raak qualified the discussion on the election date as a “fundamental issue” which required a clear position from the Kingdom. Van Laar and Bosman have stressed the importance of honest, transparent elections on St. Maarten. The Members of Parliament want independent observers to supervise the elections and related procedures.
Bron: DailyHerald