Unbiased look at the Sint Maarten Elections
PHILIPSBURG--The new National Alliance (NA)-led coalition has decided to bypass submitting a request for a meeting of Parliament to Second Deputy Parliament Chairman Cornelius de Weever, and instead has sent out a convocation letter directly to all Members of Parliament (MPs) to attend an “urgent meeting†today, Thursday, in Parliament House, starting at 6:00pm.
The meeting has as its main agenda point the appointment of a chairperson and a second vice-chairperson.
The letter, signed by the eight MPs of the new coalition, states, “In view of the recent developments†during meetings of Parliament, they have “all agreed†that today’s meeting will be chaired by MP George Pantophlet (NA).
“Additional information to substantiate this request and the decision to have MP Pantophlet chair this meeting will be sent before the meeting,†according to the letter.
The new coalition, which includes the Democratic Party ((DP)), United St. Maarten Party (USP) and independent MPs Silvio Matser and Maurice Lake, passed a motion of no confidence against the Marcel Gumbs Cabinet in Parliament on September 30. That cabinet, put in place by the now-crumbled United People’s (UP) party-led coalition, has refused to demit office and instead sent a national decree to dissolve Parliament to Governor Eugene Holiday for his ratification.
