SXMElections.com

St. Eustatius Island Council Discusses SneekS Decision

Clockwise from left: Clyde van Putten (PLP), Rechelline Leerdam (PLP), Reuben Merkman (PLP), civil servant Militza Connell-Maduro, Government Commissioner Marnix van Rij, Councilwoman Adelka Spanner (DP) and Councilman Nicolaas Koos Sneek (Independent).

~ Debates Sneeks request to call faction the new Democratic Party ~

ST. EUSTATIUS--The decision of newly-elected Island Councilman Nicolaas Koos Sneek declaring himself independent from the Democratic Party (DP) on whose slate he was elected was discussed during an extraordinary meeting of the Island Council at V.A Read more

Koos Sneek Leaves Dp And Declares Himself Independent

Nicolaas Koos Sneek (left) speaking at the installation ceremony of the Island Council of St. Eustatius on Thursday, October 29, with leader of the Democratic Party (DP) councilwoman Adelka Spanner (right).

ST. EUSTATIUS--Island Councilman Nicolaas Koos Sneek declared himself an independent member of the newly-elected Island Council of St. Eustatius on Friday, October Read more

Sneek Declare Himself Independent Island Council Member

ORANJESTAD, Sint Eustatius — On Friday October 30th, elected Island Council member Koos Sneek has informed the Democratic Party and the chairman of the Island Council, Mr. Marnix van Rij, that he has declare himself independent island council member in the Island Council of St. Eustatius.

Sneek said: “This decision was for me not an easy one to take. The main reason for me to come to this decision was the difference of opinion between myself and the leader of the Democratic Party, Ms Read more

Heyliger Extends Congratulations To St. Eustatius Says: Free And Fair Elections Allow Democracy To Reign.

PHILIPSBURG, – Sint Maarten – Democracy at work, were the words, Member of Parliament, the Honorable Grisha Heyliger-Marten used to describe her sentiments after hearing the results of the Island Council elections on St. Eustatius yesterday October 21, 2020.

She said, Part of self-determination is the ability of a people to participate in free and fair elections where their elected officials can serve without fear of attack from forces within our external forces Read more

Over Two Thousand Eligible Voters To Vote In StatiaS Island Council Elections

Sint Eustatius – Over two thousand eligible voters on St. Eustatius will have the opportunity to cast their vote for a candidate of their choice, when the Island Council election is held in Statia on Wednesday, October 21st. Some Three political parties will be vying for the allotted five seats in the Island Council of the Public Entity of St. Eustatius.

Those political organizations are the United Peoples Coalition (UPC) of Elvin Henriquez, the St. Eustatius Democratic Party (DP) under the leadership of Aldelka Spanner and the Progressive Labor Party (PLP) spearheaded by Rechelline Leerdam Read more

Sint Eustatius Island Council Election 2020 First Ever Online Debate

ORANJESTAD, Sint Eustatius – Sint Eustatius Island Council Election 2020 is under edge with 2 more official days before the electorate goes to the polls to choose a new island council governing body on Wednesday, October 21st, 2020.

There will be 2 polling districts that will be available to all eligible voters on the island and that qualify to cast their ballot for the candidate of their choice.

JJosephaNews partnered with other news media to bring the first historic Sint Eustatius Island Council Election (ICE-2020) debates Read more

My colleagues and the people of St. Maarten a very pleasant good afternoon.
In commemorating October 10, 2010, instinctively as a public servant you start to think about your role. You are de facto part of the government and governing, so you reflect and look ahead from that premise. As public servants, however, there are times when you get so caught up in your bubble of working day and night for your people that occasionally you forget that the best gauge of information about your country is a five-minute discussion with any citizen Read more

Van Dam Wants Dutch-Appointed Prison Director

Member of the Second Chamber Chris van Dam of the CDA party. (File photo)

THE HAGUE--A Netherlands-appointed director should assume management at St. Maartens Pointe Blanche prison and prison management should be taken out of the hands of the St. Maarten Justice Minister, according to Member of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament Chris van Dam of the Christian Democratic Party CDA.

He announced in an interview with The Daily Herald that he would relay this message during the handling of the 2021 Kingdom Relations budget in the Second Chamber on Tuesday Read more

No Parliamentary Supervision Of Caribbean Reform Entity

THE HAGUE – The Dutch government does not find it opportune to give a formal role to the Parliaments of Aruba, Curaao and St. Maarten in the supervision of the Caribbean Reform Entity, the body that will oversee the large reform exercise in the three countries.

Dutch State Secretary of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops stated this in a lengthy document with answers to the long list of questions submitted by the various parties in the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament Read more

Lack Of Dutch Caribbean Countries Input In Proposed Entity Pointed Out

THE HAGUE – The Democratic Party D66, the green left party GroenLinks and the Labour Party PvdA in the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament are concerned about the level of involvement that the governments and Parliaments of Aruba, Curaao and St. Maarten will have in the proposed Caribbean Reform Entity.

The parties, along with the Socialist Party (SP), are also very concerned about the vulnerable groups on the islands and how the strict conditions and the reform measures, which they do deem necessary, will adversely affect this part of society in terms of poverty and unemployment.

The parties expressed their concerns in a series of questions and remarks that the Second Chambers Permanent Committee for Kingdom Relations sent to State Secretary of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops this week Read more

Lack Of Dutch Caribbean Countries Input In Proposed Entity Pointed Out

~ Second Chamber worried about vulnerable groups ~

THE HAGUE--The Democratic Party D66, the green left party GroenLinks and the Labour Party PvdA in the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament are concerned about the level of involvement that the governments and Parliaments of Aruba, Curaao and St. Maarten will have in the proposed Caribbean Reform Entity.

Read more

GovernmentS Management Of Thecountry (Or Lack Thereof) A Growing Concern, Says Ud.

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – “The overall governing of the country and our constitutional future and relationships remain a major concern and should be continuous topics for the Parliament of St.Maarten,” stated the United Democratic Party (UD).

For the past weeks we have seen leaders, members and candidates of the political parties represented in this coalition government express views on a variety of issues which are in direct conflict with the modus operandi of the governing body and the parties themselves Read more

"Government's Management Of The Country (Or Lack Thereof) A Growing Concern", Says Ud.

PHILIPSBURG: --- "The overall governing of the country and our constitutional future and relationships remain a major concern and should be continuous topics for the Parliament of St.Maarten," stated the United Democratic Party (UD).

For the past weeks, we have seen leaders, members, and candidates of the political parties represented in this coalition government express views on a variety of issues that are in direct conflict with the modus operandi of the governing body and the parties themselves.

Under normal circumstances, this would be reason enough for the coalition parties to declare at best a lack of confidence in the ability of the St Read more

Dr Elections Are Always Turbulent: 1978, 1994 And 2020 The Most Tense

Santo Domingo, DR – Scholars of Dominican political processes point to the 1978 and 1994 elections as the most conflictive and dangerous for the democratic process that began in 1962 and had the interruption of the coup in 1963 and the civil revolt of 1965.

In 1978, the military followers of the then President Joaqun Balaguer openly participated in the campaign for reelection, reaching the point of displaying red scarves symbols of the Reformist Party on the tips of their bayonets, paralyzing the counting of votes on election day Read more

Majority Support For Motion To Take Over St. Maarten Prison

THE HAGUE--The Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament on Tuesday adopted the motion of Christian Democratic Partys CDAs Chris van Dam which requests that the Kingdom Council of Ministers take control of St. Maartens Pointe Blanche prison for five years.

Read more

Knops Says Redress To Build New Prison Is Still Possible

Dutch Minister of Justice and Security Ferd Grapperhaus (left) talks with Members of the Second Chamber before the start of Mondays debate. From right: Andr Bosman (VVD), Attje Kuiken (PvdA), Antje Diertens (D66) and Chris van Dam (CDA). (Suzanne Koelega photo)

Minister for Legal Protection Sander Dekker (left) and State Secretary of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops (second from right) at the start of Mondays debate in the Second Chamber about law enforcement. (Suzanne Koelega photo)

THE HAGUE--Dutch State Secretary of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops is giving the St Read more

Sint Maarten Anti-Poverty Platform/Sint Maarten Consumers Coalition.

Press conference Thursday June 11, 2020
Topic 1: How positive was the meeting of Chamber of Labor Unions with the Council of Ministers?
Topic 2: Protection of Registered Workers on Our Labor Market
Topic 3: Full implementation of human rights for all citizens
Topic 4: Maintaining the purchasing power of wages and salaries and the Cost of Living Adjustment
Topic 5: Kingdom Government and local government are co-authors of the Social pandemic
Topic 1: How positive was the meeting of Chamber of Labor Unions with the Council of Ministers?
Finally on Tuesday June 9th the Council of Ministers honored the request of the unified unions in the Windward Island Chamber of Labor Unions for a dialogue Read more

Second Chamber Fully Supports Loan Conditions

THE HAGUE – The Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament is in full support of setting conditions to the financial assistance for Aruba, Curaao and St. Maarten, it became clear during a plenary debate on Wednesday. Above all, Dutch funding should help the large group of needy persons on the islands and certainly not benefit the small group of the rich elite.

The poor man should not suffer. They need our help in this crisis situation. The broadest shoulders should carry the biggest weight, said Member of Parliament (MP) Nevin ztok of the green left party GroenLinks, who pointed out like many of her colleagues in the Second Chamber that the humanitarian urgency was high, and that a swift start of the reforms by the countries was needed to increase resilience and to realise growth.

In that sense, there was full support for the proposal of State Secretary of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops to link the second tranche of liquidity support to Aruba, Curaao and St Read more

Newly appointed Knight in the Order of Orange Nassau Julian Woodley (centre) with Deputy Government Commissioner Alida Francis (left) and Government Commissioner Marnix van Rij (right).

ST. EUSTATIUS--Former Acting Island Governor of St. Eustatius, former Member of Parliament (MP) of the Netherlands Antilles and former Island Councilmember for the Democratic Party (DP) Julian Woodley (68) was appointed Knight in the Order of Orange Nassau in the name of King Willem-Alexander by State Secretary of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops on Thursday, April 23.

The ceremony took place in VincentA Read more

Solidarity Is A Two-Way Street, Says Mp Van Dam

THE HAGUE – Solidarity within the Kingdom of the Netherlands is a lovely principle, but it needs to be mutual and equally invested in by all partners, according to Member of the Second Camber of the Dutch Parliament Chris van Dam of the Christian Democratic Party CDA.

One of the most beautiful articles in our Charter is article 36 which states that the Netherlands, Aruba, Curaao and St Read more

Solidarity Is A Two-Way Street, Says Mp Van Dam

THE HAGUE--Solidarity within the Kingdom of the Netherlands is a lovely principle, but it needs to be mutual and equally invested in by all partners, according to Member of the Second Camber of the Dutch Parliament Chris van Dam of the Christian Democratic Party CDA.

One of the most beautiful articles in our Charter is article 36 which states that the Netherlands, Aruba, Curaao and St Read more

Parliament Requests Reports On Pointe Blanche Prison

THE HAGUE--Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops and the Law Enforcement Council will be asked to provide an overview of the recommendations that have been made in the past years regarding the Pointe Blanche prison in St. Maarten.

The reviews are being requested by the Second Chambers Permanent Committee for Kingdom Relations on the initiative of Member of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament Chris van Dam of the Christian Democratic Party CDA Read more

Van Dam Asks About StatiaS Mass Layoff

THE HAGUE--Member of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament Chris van Dam of the Christian Democratic Party CDA is seeking clarity on the mass layoff at the St. Eustatius oil storage terminal.

Van Dam submitted written questions to Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops and Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management Cora van Nieuwenhuizen on Wednesday Read more

Van Dam: Ruling On Police Cells Reconfirms Unacceptable Situation

Chris van Dam (File photo)

THE HAGUE--The new slap on the wrist by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) which again has declared the detention of a suspect in a holding cell of the Philipsburg police station objectionable, reconfirms the unacceptable situation in St. Maarten, according to Member of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament Chris van Dam of the Christian Democratic PartyRead more