~ Curacao sticks to system that favors position on candidate-list ~ PHILIPSBURG – St. Maarten’s current electoral law – oft referred to as the Lynch-law after its architect – determines that candidates with the highest number of votes are elected over candidates with a higher position on a party-list. The system was introduced 21 years ago at the initiative of the late Edgar Lynch. Is it still a valid system?
Author: The Publisher
PHILIPSBURG — The discussion about electoral reform will soon be in full swing, whereby the focus will be on the Lynch-law – actually, an article in the current electoral law that determines who gets elected: candidates with more votes or candidates with a higher position on a party-list. The arguments against the Lynch-law should be placed in their proper perspective. A reversal would mean that a candidate’s place on a party-list once more becomes the deciding factor. Ironically, this is the system currently in use in Curacao where Partido MAN in 2016 attempted to change it by introducing their own…
~ LU’s hygiene procedural handbook balance educational needs with safe environment ~ CAY HILL — In preparation of the opening of its 2020-2021 school year on August 12, Learning Unlimited (LU) has produced a 30-page Hygiene Procedural Handbook for students, teachers and parents with the goal of balancing students’ educational needs within a safe, supportive environment for learning while providing important services to limit the virus that causes COVID-19. The handbook was sent to all parents last week. In drafting this comprehensive handbook, LU utilized the recommendations of the Federal Institute for Health and Environment (Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu…
BELLEVUE — French St. Martin reported sixteen new COVID-19 cases today. Officially, the border between the Dutch and the French side has been closed since July 31, a day before St. Maarten welcomed American tourists. St. Martin does not want American tourists, but pedestrians and cyclists can cross the border without being checked. According to St. Martin authorities, thirteen of the sixteen new COVID-19 cases are due to local community transmission. Eighty-nine active cases have been identified on the Dutch side; today, three new cases have been added. “All we need to do as a country, in order to flatten…
“The Constitution of Sint Maarten – When it is time to vote” By author Hensley G.A. Plantijn A book review for StMaartenNews.com by Terrance Rey ~ People must buy this book if they want to fully understand our parliamentary system and the election process that governs the selection of representatives in Parliament. ~ Someone with practical and hands-on experience in this field wrote this book. The author seems to have been privy to or part of the various discussions and debates on constitutional issues (such as the use of Article 59) and the ongoing debates surrounding the application and validity…
MP Wescot-Williams: “St. Maarten/St. Martin’s border closure has taken on a European context and should be elevated to a Kingdom level.” Philipsburg, St. Maarten, August 2, 2020 – MP Wescot-Williams: “With the announcement by the Préfecture of Saint Martin of another border closure “in agreement with the Ministry of Overseas France”, dubbed as a “traffic restriction” between the two parts of the island, we can no longer pretend that this is strictly a local matter, left up to the authorities in Marigot and Philipsburg.” To further exacerbate and move this away from the local authorities is the decision by the…
~ In the mold of a Colmado and Bodega ~ ST. PETERS — The district of St. Peters and surrounding neighborhoods will benefit this week from the opening of the area’s first mini-market with a focus on daily home essentials. Teo’s Superette is a mini-market in its truest form and in the mold of the well-known neighborhood Colmados of the Dominican Republic and Bodegas of New York City. No bigger than an average bedroom, Teo’s may be mini in size but packs a big punch in terms of daily essential inventory. It opens on Tuesday, August 4. The brainchild of…
PHILIPSBURG – Former Minister of Tourism and Economic Affairs (TEATT) Stuart Johnson actively frustrated an investigation by the Ombudsman into the procurement policy at the Princess Juliana International Airport. This appears from the Ombudsman’s 2019 annual report. The Ombudsman initiated a systemic investigation into the procurement policy in the third quarter of 2018; it was completed in April 2019. On November 19, 2018, Minister Johnson wrote to the Ombudsman that there were “serious legal objections to the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction in this matter.” Johnson also claimed that the procurement policy is “an internal confidential document.” The Ombudsman notes in her report…
GREAT BAY — The Princess Juliana International Airport’s opening will continue as scheduled for August 1, despite the concerns by the government representatives on the French side of the island. Minister responsible for Tourism, Ludmila De Weever, confirmed at the Council of Ministers Press Briefing that there would be a reduced schedule of flights from the United States to St. Maarten. She said that Delta Airlines had reduced its schedule flights to three times per week. Jet Blue Airlines has reduced its flights to once per week out of New York, American Airlines one flight per week from Charlotte North…
BALTIMORE / PHILIPSBURG – Countries need knowledgeable leadership and they must make evidence-based medical decisions. That is the message from Lt. Colonel Dr. Leonard (Lenny) Richardson, a COVID-19 researcher from Anguilla who currently works at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. “The corona-virus is not new; however, COVID-19, also known as SARS-CoV-2 is novel and new to man. We are not COVID-free,” Richardson says. “But the question is: do we keep the world out or do we open up? How else will our economy survive?” “There is a lot of misinformation about this virus. Some say that it is man-made.…
