THE HAGUE — The Common Court of Justice was correct when it ruled that excluding partners of the same sex from marriage in Aruba and Curacao violates the constitutional ban on discrimination. Both countries appealed in cassation against this ruling at the Supreme Court in the Netherlands but Solicitor-General Gerbrant Snijders writes in his conclusion that the appeals are baseless. Supreme Court rulings traditionally follow such a conclusion. The conclusion has far-reaching consequences for same-sex partners, not only in Aruba and Curacao, but also in St. Maarten. In December 2022 the Common Court of Justice ruled that persons of different…
Author: The Publisher
PHILIPSBURG — No elections on July 19, as the outgoing government has proposed, but on Monday, August 19. That is the proposal of the Central Voting Bureau. Its chairlady Natalie Tackling expressed concerns about the timeline proposed by the government in a letter dated May 23. It is currently unclear whether the date for the interim elections will be changed. The problems with interim-elections that take place after the government dissolves the parliament are not new. There is a longstanding conflict between article 59 of the constitution and regulations established in the national ordinance registration and finances political parties and…
PHILIPSBURG — The National Alliance (NA) is ready to go into the upcoming snap election with overwhelming support within the party for Leader and Member of Parliament Silveria Jacobs. This is according to a press release issued today by the National Alliance party. Although this is an election that the National Alliance party nor the people of St. Maarten wanted seeing the recently held elections on January 11th, especially after four years of stability, which was hard-fought with much deliberations internally and within the Kingdom, the Member of Parliament and former Prime Minister, Silveria Jacobs, has been pivotal with her…
PHILIPSBURG -– The Unified Resilient St. Maarten Movement (URSM) extends congratulations to the Soualiga Action Movement (SAM) and its leader, Franklin Meyers, for their readiness to contest in the upcoming snap elections scheduled for July 18, 2024. While URSM remains committed to its distinct vision for the future of St. Maarten, we recognize the efforts of SAM, under its leadership, to address the challenges currently facing our island. As a separate entity with its unique policies and objectives, URSM views the participation of various parties in the electoral process as vital to a healthy democracy and the representation of diverse…
Dear Editor, Concerns about the disarray within the URSM and NOW parties suggest that this could lead to a significant loss of seats in the upcoming election. The limited time the URSM leader has allowed his party and coalition partners to prepare raises questions, especially as these groups appear to be overwhelmed by internal issues. The problem with these snap elections is that the treatment of candidate’s post-elections is still fresh in the minds of the candidates. On the other hand, the leader of the 2×4 coalition has seemingly made a critical rookie error. Despite expressing concerns about the nation’s…
PHILIPSBURG — It is a done deal: Governor Baly has signed the national decree to dissolve the Parliament based on Article 59 of the Constitution. New elections will be held on July 18. When former Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs invoked article 59 in 2015 after his government had lost its majority in Parliament there was a heated debate about his right to do so. Constitutional experts at the time, among them Professor Arjen van Rijn, had a clear answer: “If the parliament hits, the government has the right to hit back.” Once the national decree to dissolve parliament has been…
HARBOUR VIEW, PHILIPSBURG — On May 20th, 2024, Member of Parliament Mr. Kevin Maingrette (NOW) withdrew his support from the URSM/PFP/DP/NOW-coalition government and subsequently declared himself an independent Member of Parliament. His Excellency Governor of Sint Maarten, Ajamu G. Baly, LL.M., discussed the situation that same day and convened a meeting with Prime Minister and Minister of General Affairs, Mr. Luc. F.E. Mercelina. The Prime Minister indicated that he had come to the conclusion that the government had lost its majority support in Parliament and informed the Governor of the intention of the Government to dissolve Parliament and hold snap…
HARBOUR VIEW, PHILIPSBURG — On Tuesday, May 21, 2024, His Excellency Governor Ajamu G. Baly administered the oath to new Members of Parliament Mr. Richinel S.J. Brug and Mr. Viren V. Kotai at the Governor’s Cabinet. The new members, of the United Resilient Sint Maarten Movement (URSM) and the Democratic Party (DP), take their seats left vacant as a result of the appointment to the Council of Ministers of Prime Minister/Minister of General Affairs Mr. Luc F.E. Mercelina and Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport, and Telecommunications, Mrs. Grisha Heyliger-Marten. This means that the Parliament is now at full capacity…
By Hilbert Haar Back in the day, I do not exactly remember the year, the Democratic Party came up with a lofty election slogan: Country above self. This may seem logical to well-meaning citizens but it is badly understood by at least some politicians. The four-party coalition government of Dr. Luc Mercelina has not even had the opportunity to do anything wrong or the first ship jumper reported to the front line: MP Kevin Maingrette, a former member and candidate of the United People’s party (UP) and during the last elections a member of NOW (Nation, Opportunity, Wealth). Maingrette cites…
PHILIPSBURG — Michael Ferrier has sharply criticized Maingrette’s move. “This decision is not one I have taken lightly,” he quotes from Maingrette’s press release, adding: “I wonder if you meant haggling over the amount you might have been offered to pull this stunt?” Ferrier also notes that Maingrette said during the signing of the governing accord with URSM, NOW, PFP and DP that he was not going anywhere. Ferrier also fell over this statement by Maingrette: “I want to see the country thrive and restore the faith of our citizens in their leaders. Ferrier; “You are SOOOO full of excrement.”…
