SXMElections.com

Usp Introduces Four New Candidates

St. Maarten News —The United St. Maarten Party (USP) has added four more candidates to the party to contest the upcoming elections that are slated for September 26, 2016 and was introduced to the public at the party headquarters on Friday. The new candidates, some of whom have worked for government for a number of years, felt that the time is now for them to play their part and serve the people of the island.

Party leader Frans Richardson said that the USP “is not only about putting people on the list but also guiding them in the way that the Parliament of St Read more

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Usp Leader Laments Bureaucratic Tax System

St. Maarten News  – We’ve been talking about the simplification of the tax system for too long and bureaucracy is killing us,” says Leader of the United St. Maarten Party (USP) Frans Richardson, adding that it is time to stop talking and tackle the tax structure which puts St Read more

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Mp Frans Richardson Sounds The Alarm: Social Media Messages: Kill The Prime Minister

St. Maarten News – Messages on social media suggest killing the prime minister, members of parliament and their corrupted friends, MP Frans Richardson said during a meeting of parliament about vote buying. While Richardson considered there threats far more important than the issue of vote buying, no other MP even reacted to his statement.

“I am going to protect myself and my family,” Richardson said Read more

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St. Maarten Parliament Debates Sale New Government Building

Plenty of questions but no new insights

St.  Maarten News – Parliament debated the purchase of the new government administration building in a meeting yesterday afternoon but it did not provide any new insights. Minister of General Affairs William Marlin answered a plethora of questions that mostly covered issues so far in the past that they have lost their significance or that addresses issues that are already public knowledge.

Marlin said that at this moment there is no accurate assessment of the office space the government will still need outside of the new building after departments have moved in by September Read more

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Opinion: The Spirit Of Giving

Sometimes, initiatives that may have started with the best of intentions are raising eyebrows. Such is the case with the “giving back to the community” initiative of parliamentarian Leona Marlin-Romeo – and we’d like to place this in the context of 2016 – an election year.

We are all familiar with the vote buying scandal dating back to 2010 when a couple of police officers sold their vote for $300 a pop to the United People’s party Read more

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Plasterk About Dispute Regulation “Kingdom Cannot Deviate From Decisions, Unless …”

St. Maarten News:  The Kingdom Council of Ministers cannot deviate from an advice issued by a dispute regulator, unless such a deviation is properly motivated,” Kingdom Relations Minister Ronald Plasterk said at a press conference yesterday at the end of his visit to St. Maarten. With this statement, Plasterk seems to come back from his earlier stance that the Kingdom Council of Ministers should always have the last word in disputes between the countries in the kingdom.

The only issue that separates Plasterk and the Caribbean autonomous countries St Read more

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Constitutional Court Rules On Alexander’S Petition

St. Maarten News – The Constitutional Court will take a decision on Friday morning about the petition Lisa Alexander filed about the election date. The court is in session on Friday to handle the review of the Integrity Chamber-legislation.

At the beginning of this hearing, at 9 a.m., the court will rule on Alexander’s petition.

“His Excellency Governor Eugene Holiday’s attempt to cancel the national decree of October 29 is unconstitutional,” Lisa Alexander said in a press statement on December 15 of last year Read more

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Government About To Collect 13 Million From Casino Sector

Parliamentarians happy with withdrawal increased road tax

St. Maarten – By providing the receiver’s office with a mandate, the government is able to collect 13 million in tax arrears from the casino-sector, Finance Minister Richard Gibson said yesterday afternoon during a meeting of the Central Committee where he, as announced on Wednesday, withdrew the draft law to increase the road tax in 2016.

In a brief introduction, the minister told parliament that he would like to make some changes to the draft the previous government had submitted Read more

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Lisa Alexander: Canceling National Decree Is Unconstitutional”

St. Maarten – “His Excellency Governor Eugene Holiday’s attempt to cancel the national decree of October 29 is unconstitutional,” Lisa Alexander said in a press statement last night. “There is absolutely no provision in the Constitution that gives the governor the authority to cancel a published National Dissolution Decree. This decree affects the fundamental rights of the citizens of St Read more

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Mp Johan Leonard About The Cause Of Ship Jumping: Our Party Leaders Blatantly Disrespect Their Members

MP Heyliger is still smiling after the severe criticism from his fellow-faction member Johan Leonard (left). Photo Today / Milton Pieters

St. Maarten – The attitude of party leaders is the main reason for ship jumping, United People’s party MP Johan Leonard said yesterday morning in an unexpected sharp attack on UP-leader Theo Heyliger Read more

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Sxm Airways Gets Support From Parliamentarians

SXM Airways Managing Director Rolando Brison during his presentation to Parliament. Photo contributed

Upstart airline SXM Airways received encouraging words of support from Members of Parliament on Tuesday as management and shareholders briefed the Central Committee on the airline’s plans and vision. The MP’s urged management to “keep pushing” and not to be afraid of competing with other airlines including Winair.

Managing Director Rolando Brison and shareholders Elvis Queeley, Michel Carter and Jeff Oliver, gave a comprehensive presentation about everything from the origins of the idea for the on-demand airline, to educational initiatives, market analysis, market share, share availability for local purchase and operational perspectives Read more

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Winners And Losers: Who Will Survive The Polls In February?

St. Maarten / By Hilbert Haar – February 9, 2016 is crunch day for politicians and those who aspire to become one. The parliamentary elections – for some mysterious reason perceived by some as ‘snap elections’, whatever that may be – will give voters the opportunity to speak their mind about the constitutional drama that concluded on Wednesday when the ministers of the Marcel Gumbs cabinet tendered their resignation and Governor Drs Read more

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“Saying That Elections Will Stop Ship Jumping Is Lying To Voters”

St. Maarten – Parliamentarians bitched and moaned about rules and regulations yesterday all the way until the final vote on the two motions the new majority presented yesterday morning. It was a losing battle for the opposition UP and its faithful independents and in the end, it did not change anything at all.

Independent MP Cornelius de Weever started with an attack on the new president of parliament, Sarah Wescot-Williams Read more

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“Criminal Organizations Are Killing Each Other”

Justice Minister Dennis Richardson about rising crime:

St. Maarten – The recent hike in crime can be attributed to criminal organizations fighting over territory and killing each other, Minister of Justice Dennis Richardson said at the Council of Ministers press briefing yesterday. The minister has taken notice of the crime situation and would rather focus on crime prevention efforts then contributing more money to capturing and locking up criminals. In a meeting with the police on Monday, the minister was informed that in 2014 there were ten murders while this year there are seven thus far Read more

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Chair Aborts Meeting Within Sixty Seconds: New Majority Calls Action Mp De Weever Illegal

St. Maarten – Acting as the second vice president of Parliament, independent MP Cornelius de Weever wrong-footed parliament yesterday morning by opening and closing a meeting designed to appoint a new chair within sixty seconds after which he “ran out of the hall,” according to Democratic Party MP Sarah Wescot-Williams.

De Weever called on article 37 of the rules of order, after remarking that the cabinet had submitted a national decree to dissolve parliament Read more

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Opinion: Something’S Brewing

We know since last night that Governor Holiday sent a letter to Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs. We do not know the content of this letter, but there is no doubt that this will come out some time today.

The past couple of days, two political parties have come out with press conferences where they made their positions clear. The National Alliance nor the Democratic Party fear elections, they say.

Do they really want elections? Not really Read more

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Green Light For New Government, But Pm Gumbs Disagrees: “Even The Governor Can Make A Mistake”

St. Maarten – Governor Drs. Eugene Holiday has given the green light to the National Alliance-led coalition to form a new government. There will therefore be no elections on December 8, as would have been the case if the governor had ratified the national decree the cabinet sent to his office to dissolve the parliament and to call new elections.

Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs “absolutely disagrees” with the decision and his cabinet does not intend to make its positions available Read more

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St. Maarten Government Falls Again: Fifth Cabinet In Five Years In The Making

UP-leader Theo Heyliger (left) and MP Silvio Matser on 10-10-14 when they were still political allies. Now the political marriage is over: “I cannot take the internal abuse anymore,” Matser said yesterday Read more

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St. Maarten Government Falls – Three Coalition Members Defect

Picture: St. Maarten Parliament

NEWSFLASH!! St. Maarten– The Gumbs government fell shortly after 12.30 p.m. today (Wednesday, September 30, 2015) after the parliament passed a motion of no-confidence submitted by Democratic Party MP Sarah Wescot-Williams with an 8-7 vote Read more

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Garbage Meeting Fizzles: Many Questions, No Answers And No Solutions

St. Maarten – At the end of a long meeting, finally there were some fireworks when opposition MP asked Vromi-Minister Claret Connor to answer one question: “Is there a contract with a company to build the waste-to-energy plant and how does this jive with your visit to a project in Miami?”

Minister Connor, who had just said that he would be able to inform the parliament on Monday when he would be able to answer the more than one hundred questions MPs had asked, did not bite Read more

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Mp Heyliger: “The Dutch Keep Terrorizing Our Little Country” : Constitution Day Triggers Calls For Independence

St. Maarten – Parliament unanimously approved changes to several ordinances to establish the second Monday of October as Constitution Day, an official holiday. Under this legislation. Kingdom Day (December 15) will disappear from the local holiday-calendar. While approving the legislation was a formality, several MPs used the opportunity to express their sentiment about the country’s road towards independence.

“Moving towards the end goal – independence – it makes sense to move away from a day that celebrates that we are a part of the Kingdom,” National Alliance faction leader William Marlin said Read more

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Minister Richardson Criticizes Attorney-General Schram: “Justify Your Claims Or Shut The Hell Up”

Justice Minister Richardson is tired of accusations about corruption. Photo Today / Milton Pieters

St. Maarten – “My position has changed: it is put up or shut up. Justify your claims or shut the hell up. This has to stop,” Justice Minister Dennis Richardson said yesterday afternoon in parliament about the statements Attorney-General Guus Schram made last Friday about the interconnection between the underworld and the legitimate part of St. Maarten’s society.

“There are numerous indications showing that the underworld and the legitimate society in St Read more

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Government Administration Building Remains Empty: White Elephant Remains A Burden

Will there ever be light at the end of the tunnel? The lobby of the new government administration building is empty and waiting to be properly furnished. Photo Today / Hilbert Haar

St. Maarten – The new government administration building on Pond Island – aka the White Elephant with the Green Hat – is still waiting for its first civil servants. The interior of the building is not finished and yesterday nobody was working on it either.

Based on an overview of buildings in use by the government that is in the possession of this newspaper, 56 government departments are using real estate outside of the current governed administration building on Clem Labega Square.

Of fourteen buildings, the list today has in its possession mentions the value of the buildings Read more

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Only National Alliance Votes Against Ordinance: Parliament Establishes Integrity Chamber

St. Maarten – After everything was said and done yesterday, only the opposition faction of the National Alliance voted against the establishment of the Integrity Chamber. The United People’s party faction, having voiced serious opposition against the Dutch pressure on St. Maarten, withdrew all of the amendments it proposed to the law in June, and went along with a strategic proposal from opposition MP Sarah Wescot-Williams to accept the proposal the government put on the table Read more

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