SXMElections.com

St. Maarten – The leadership of the National Alliance will transfer in 2016 from MP William Marlin to MP Silveria Jacobs, current party leader Marlin said yesterday in answer to a question from this newspaper. During the August 29 elections of last year, Jacobs – a former Minister of Education – was the party’s top vote getter with 973 votes, far ahead of Marlin who won 742 votes – a far cry from the 1,590 votes he won in the 2010 elections.

Marlin said that there has been no discussion in the party about the leadership as a result of the elections. Instead, he said, Jacobs had been named the party’s deputy leader before the elections with the understanding that there will be a transfer of leadership during the party’s 2016 convention.

“At the congress in 2016 there will be a transition of leadership,” Marlin said. “There is no discussion about it right now, though of course it is up to the congress to make that kind of decision. We have already agreed that there will be a transition in 2016. You will have noted that many of the invitations come from our deputy leader; that is all part of the transition and has absolutely nothing to do with the outcome of the elections. As a matter of fact, maybe the outcome of the elections has to do with the decisions taken at our congress and me taking a backseat as far as the party’s leadership is concerned.”

Jacobs said that she did not want the leadership-issue to become the focus of the party’s press conference and that it is about the issues the people of St. Maarten are facing. “People are coming to us and they are nog going to the government. Why is that happening? MP Marlin is a very valuable asset to the National Alliance, he will continue to be a support for the party.”

Jacobs said that people are looking forward to a different way of governing. “This has not happened,’ she said. “The same persons who say they will vote across party lines have not done so. When it comes down to it they either run out of the hall and don’t vote or they vote along party lines. There was no need, if you really look at it, to leave your party if you did not believe in what is wrong with what is going on in parliament. The only reason they join the coalition, is to be able to appoint a minister. They want a stake in government. Yes we are in the opposition, but we will put forward things that are good for the people.”