Unbiased look at the Sint Maarten Elections
The voters have spoken. Compared to four years ago UP replaced NA as the largest party but fell short of a majority, while DP held steady after its setback in 2010 and newcomer US Party not only got into Parliament but earned two seats, making for an intriguing new political landscape. There are now four fractions in the legislature with respectively seven, four, two and two of the 15 seats.
Several coalitions are conceivable, although the latest news early this morning was that NA, DP and US had teamed up last night for a total of eight seats. Other options would have been a continuation of the current UP/DP government – be it without the support of independent (former UP) parliamentarian Romain Laville – backed by nine seats. A combination of the two largest parties UP and NA was also possible for 11 seats, as was UP/US with nine seats.
Some might say it's not right that UP is left out, having added a seat and won the elections, while NA lost no less than three seats, but that is how parliamentary democracy functions. Moreover, NA became the largest party with seven seats in 2010, yet was sent to the opposition benches by UP and DP.
One also could argue that UP, having campaigned for an absolute majority, did not do quite as well as it had hoped either. In any case, the role of the opposition is also important, because that's whom the voters will count on to keep the governing parties in check.
As usual, the elections were conducted peacefully and in good spirits, while a turnout of about 70 per cent is certainly not bad and is in line with the recent past. The relatively high number of invalid votes warrants looking into, but in general the main conclusion seems to be that democracy is very much alive and well in St. Maarten.
