Legislative Oversight
By Hilbert Haar An unintentional failure to notice or do something. That is, according to the Oxford dictionary, the definition of the term oversight. The current discrepancies between Article 59 of the Constitution More...
New elections will be held on July 18
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 More...
(In)stability
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 More...
Political Analysis: Article 59 Part II in the Context of Sint Maarten’s Political Climate
Dear Editor, The current Prime Minister’s Cabinet has promised to invoke Article 59 to dissolve Parliament, though the reason for this is unclear. This action would likely be a response to losing support More...
Invoking Article 59 is PM Jacobs’ final option
PHILIPSBURG — Government and Parliament are at a crossroads due to the continued dispute about the insistence by State Secretary Raymond Knops that the Parliament denounces the petition it submitted to the More...
Reforming politicians
By Hilbert Haar The amendments to election-related ordinances proposed by Sint Maarten Christian Party leader Wycliffe Smith seamlessly solve the existing conflicts between these ordinances and the constitution. Article More...
MP Samuel files an initiative to prevent frequent elections
PHILIPSBURG — MP Rudolphe Samuel has taken an initiative in the Parliament of St. Maarten to amend article 59 of the Constitution which deals with the calling for new elections after the Parliament is dissolved More...
A giant blooper
By Hilbert Haar Did Governor Drs. Eugène Holiday overstep the mark on September 23 when he signed the national decree that invokes article 59? That question rumbles through the corridors of power in The Hague More...
The thing with article 59
Is there a cure for the seemingly never-ending battle between an obstinate parliament – that sends the government home – and an evenly stubborn Council of Ministers that reacts by invoking Article 59 of the More...
SMCP stance on the fall of government and new elections
PHILIPSBURG — The Sint Maarten Christian Party (SMCP), represented by the party leader and Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport Wycliffe Smith and Member of Parliament Claude Chacho Peterson issued More...
