GREAT BAY — “All I can say is the Governor and, of course, the Prime Minister have put politics ahead of the suffering of the people. A new majority was formed in Parliament to break the impasse with the Dutch Government and to put the immediate needs of the people top of the list.” UP leader Theo Heyliger said in his latest release. “I have respect for our Governor, but it is hard for me to imagine he would look out from his office, his home and out of his car window to the sea of blue tarpaulins, news of…
Author: The Publisher
GREAT BAY — On Friday morning, November 3, 2017, Prime Minister William Marlin and Governor Drs Eugene Holiday signed the National Decree to dissolve Parliament and hold snap elections. The new Parliament will be sworn in on Wednesday January 31, 2018. Postulation will be on Monday November 13, 2017 and the voters will be going to the polls to elect the new Parliament on Monday January 8, 2018.
By Hilbert Haar Here we go again folks. As Professor Arjen van Rijn wrote in a column this week: if the Parliament strikes, the Government has the right to strike back. And so, the Parliament sent the Marlin-government home with a motion of no confidence, and the Government hit back with a decree to dissolve the Parliament per January 31 of next year. That date puts the election date at an interesting time; between December 21 and December 31 – the peak of the festive season. Ho ho ho! How is that going to work out? The national decree has…
THE HAUGE – If there are going to be elections in January in St. Maarten then it seems that there will no longer be an agreement between the Netherlands and St. Maarten about a multi-million fund for the reconstruction after Hurricane Irma, John Samson writes on Caribisch Netwerk. The Parliament in St. Maarten sent the Government led by Prime Minister William Marlin home on Thursday, because Marlin does not fully agree to the Dutch conditions. But State Secretary Raymond Knops (Kingdom Relations) only wants to make a deal with a government that will be in office for a longer period…
PHILIPSBURG — Governor Drs. Eugène Holiday started on Friday with consultations “to explore the formation of a new interim cabinet,” his office stated in a press release. This seemingly indicates that the governor intends to sign the decree to dissolve the Parliament and to call for elections, even though there is a new majority of eight in Parliament prepared to form a new government. The collation of eight sent the William Marlin government home on Thursday with a motion of no confidence. The factions of the United People’s party, Democratic Party and MP Chanel Brownbill intended to take over, but…
Pond Island — Prime Minister Marlin sends letter to Dominica’s Prime Minister Honourable Roosevelt Skerrit on the occasion of 39 years independence the Commonwealth of Dominica is celebrating. Photo caption: Letter above and file photo when Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit visited St. Maarten and paid a courtesy visit to Prime Minister William Marlin shortly after the passing of hurricane Irma. Photo contributed.
PHILIPSBURG — Leader of the United St. Maarten (US) party MP Frans Richardson on Friday said that his party will not utilize the customary roadside billboards in the run-up to the January Parliamentary elections. Richardson said that he believes the work put in by the USP in 9 months in office and the clear message that the party will have for the people of St. Maarten will speak volumes as his candidates makes contact with people. “People in St. Maarten are hurting and going through tough times. Building material is already scarce and should be left for people who are…
Reality set in yesterday for the Marlin-government. Parliament voted 8 to 6 on a no-confidence motion. The Marlin-cabinet subsequently resigned and used their trump card and submitted a national decree to the Governor to call for new elections and dissolve Parliament in January 2018. These are the facts. However, the coming days as we await the decision of the Governor, political and constitutional pundits will be debating the merits of this situation. Arjen van Rijn is the first to outline the positions in a comprehensive Antilliaans Dagblad opinion piece we have published under the title ” The risks of the…
Press Release from the Governor’s Cabinet Date: November 2nd, 2017 Resignation of cabinet Marlin II Harbour View – On November 2nd, 2017, His Excellency the Governor of Sint Maarten, drs. E.B. Holiday, received a letter from Prime Minister, Mr. W. Marlin, making the portfolios of the Ministers and the Minister Plenipotentiary available and tendering the resignation of his entire cabinet. This resignation takes place as a result of the vote of no confidence, passed by Parliament on November 2nd, 2017. The Governor informed the Prime Minister that he will take the resignation request into consideration pending the formation and installation…
HARBOUR VIEW — Prime Minister William Marlin tendered the resignation of his cabinet to Governor Eugene Holiday on Thursday afternoon following the motion of no confidence against himself and the other ministers. Marlin also presented a draft National Decree to the Governor to dissolve Parliament. Once signed, the Parliament of Sint Maarten will be dissolved on January 31, 2018. To make this possible, elections for a new Parliament will have to be held. Marlin says that the voters of Sint Maarten will now have to decide how to move forward. A one seat majority government is not good for the…
