Claude A. H. Peterson, SAM Party Candidate, Calls for Serious Electoral Reform to Ensure Stable Government
Philipsburg, St. Maarten — Claude A. H. Peterson, the number 4 candidate on the Soualiga Action Movement (SAM) party list, has issued a strong call for immediate and comprehensive electoral reform as the critical first step towards ensuring a stable and effective government in St. Maarten. Peterson, a former Member of Parliament and affectionately known as Chacho, emphasizes that if Government continues to fall prematurely, the necessary reforms or initiatives cannot be successfully implemented or sustained.
Since becoming an autonomous country within the Dutch Kingdom in 2010, the electorate of our island have been asked to vote in 7 elections in 14 years! This is more than double the number of elections that would have taken place if we had elections every 4 years as prescribed in our Constitution. The incessant ship jumping leading to political instability has crippled our ability as a young nation to develop and mature organically. This combined with the repeated natural and man-made disasters since 2017 (Hurricane Irma, Covid Pandemic & Gebe Ransomware attack), is bringing St. Maarten to the verge of collapse.
"In our current political climate, the need for electoral reform is more urgent than ever", stated Peterson. "Our government cannot achieve the continuity required for effective governance without addressing the fundamental flaws in our electoral system. Integer and stable representation are the bedrock upon which all other initiatives and reforms for our people must be built."
Peterson highlights that the present electoral system fosters individualism and the pursuit of personal power, which undermines the collective good and hampers the government's ability to function effectively. To counter and limit this, he proposes that the Parliament of St. Maarten via the Electoral Reform Committee explores two directions to help mitigate petty ship jumping and foster stability in Parliament, and by extension Government.
The first solution to deal with ship jumping involves making changes to the Rules of Order of Parliament. In his proposal, Members of Parliament who declare themselves independent from the party on which they were elected, will no longer be considered a faction. Therefore, they would no longer be eligible to receive the same benefits awarded to a party faction. These include a monthly budget for faction staff and travel for Parliamentary affairs. This disincentivizes the attraction of trivially declaring oneself independent in Parliament. Only when a Member of Parliament wins his or her seat outright on their party, would they be exempted from this.
The second solution to foster stability in Parliament and by extension Government is more complex and will require the assistance of constitutional experts, lobbying in our Parliament, lobbying the Kingdom Council of Ministers and the first and second Legislative Chambers. This proposal is to adopt a hybrid model using our present electoral system and the electoral system of French Saint Martin which comprises of a run off electoral system with a 1st and 2nd round election. "Our fellow Soualigan’s of French Saint Martin have demonstrated a system that prioritizes community over individual power. It is time we tap into this and create an electoral framework that promotes unity and shared purpose," Peterson explained. He believes that this out of the box hybrid model will make it possible for 1 party to gain an outright majority of 8 plus seats, which is something that has not been achieved in St. Maarten since 10-10-10.
In Peterson’s proposal, after the 1st round election, only parties who have achieved 51% of votes needed to get one seat based on the total votes casted, would be eligible to take part in the 2nd round election scheduled one week later. This will eliminate the parties who didn’t “make the cut”. These eliminated parties can choose to endorse one of the remaining parties for the 2nd round or not. Voters will have the opportunity to re-visit their choice in the 2nd round from the parties that achieve more than the 51%.
In the 2nd round election, the party that gets the most votes would automatically be awarded 3 bonus parliamentary seats from the 15. Then the usual way of calculating the seats won by each party, including the calculation of the residual seats, will apply for the remaining 12 parliamentary seats. This proposal would increase the chances of a party getting an 8 seat or more majority, or a coalition with minimal parties. Having a party with 8 seats or more would make the process of selecting a Council of Ministers easier than in a coalition setting. This would also put the emphasis on Members of Parliament holding Ministers accountable. "This approach will ensure that elected officials are more accountable to the public and less driven by personal agendas." Peterson stated.
The former MP stated: “The solutions given above do not seek to remove the right of any elected Member of Parliament from upholding the oath of office and being free to vote their conscience. Instead, it seeks to fix the loopholes in our present system being exploited by individual political self-preservation and crippling the advancement of our island as well as the prosperity of our People.”
The SAM party contesting the August 19th snap election, promises to make it a top priority to explore all options for electoral reform when elected to Parliament. The party is committed to leading this transformative change, ensuring that St. Maarten's Government is stable, fair and equipped to address the challenges facing the nation. As the #4 candidate, Peterson has suggested two possible reforms which he will seek to formalize into legislative initiatives.
Peterson was quoted as saying: “All parties who have contested elections in the last 14 years have in one way or the other spoken about and campaigned on electoral reform, yet nothing tangible has ever been introduced on the floor of Parliament. As a man of action and vision, I believe it is time we stop talking and get it done. If elected, I will seek to chair the Electoral Reform Committee and lobby my colleagues to gain support for these viable solutions to ensure political stability and prosperity for our People”.
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