Unbiased look at the Sint Maarten Elections
PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The board of the Democratic Party of St. Maarten Tuesday sent a letter to MP the Honorable Cornelius de Weever in which they have clearly stated their intentions to expel him from the folds of the party.
The letter which is signed by the President and leader states that they have given MP de Weever the opportunity to appeal the decision of the board, however this appeal must be submitted by five 0'clock Friday afternoon.
According to the Leader of the Democratic Party MP the Honorable Sarah Wescot-Williams, MP C. De Weever told the Board of the Democratic Party that he is presently off-island and will respond upon his return.
The letter from the board of the DP party can be read below.
Dear Cornelius,
In the interest of this communication, it is important that we revisit some relevant points in the relationship between yourself and the Democratic Party, specifically following the August 29th parliamentary election.
Without any indication of such and following a few brief internal emails on the topic of the "counterpart issue", you signed an agreement on October 3rd with 7 UPP parliamentarians to form the next government, betraying those you worked with on the formation of the NA/DP/USP governing program and your fellow candidates and DP members.
That alone would constitute reason for immediate disbarment from the DP with the consequences as spelled out in our articles of incorporation.
However, after several discussions with yourself and Mr.Leroy de Weever, it was decided in the interest of the party to band together and throw our Party's support behind what by that time had become the UP/CDW/LMR coalition.
This was also done because matters like integrity etc. were being touted by the new government coalition and considering how intensely we campaigned on the matter of integrity and transparency, going as far as having our candidates sign a pledge to this effect.
Following the signing between the Formateur, Mr. Heyliger and the DP leader on behalf of the DP on October 9th, several discussions took place regarding nominees for the ministries of Public Health, Labor and Social Development and that of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports. These discussions were between yourself and the DP leader and on one occasion in the presence of Mr. F. Meyers and Mr. T. Heyliger.
After due consideration, the DP leader submitted to the Formateur on October 28, the names of Y. Halley and E. Lee for the post of Minister for Education, Culture, Youth and Sports and Public Health, Labor and Social Affairs respectively and copied you. At that time you were abroad.
Lo and behold, approximately 2 weeks later, you dispatch a letter to the Formateur in your name, in which you submitted the names of 2 other candidates, one of those being Leroy de Weever. You referred in this letter to an agreement you signed on September 24th. This agreement is unknown to us.
In addition, on more than one occasion and once in the presence of the Formateur, you dismissed the candidacy of Mrs. R. Gumbs as a fleeting thought, based on a discussion you had with MP S. Jacobs of the NA.
Any reference to Leroy de Weever was very brief and related to him being possibly offered a post in the field of foreign affairs in another country.
Coincidentally, on November 6th, you, on behalf of the DP FACTION, submitted together with 2 other MPs, a request for a public meeting of Parliament. The DP only learned of this request when the DP leader received such in the capacity of chairperson of Parliament.
It should be more than evident that the above goes against every grain of decency, politically or otherwise. You have acted against all that the Democratic Party stands for, its articles of incorporation and your own-signed declarations of consent and of abidance.
It is our opinion that the above, singularly and jointly constitutes grounds for immediate expulsion as a member of the Democratic Party. Nevertheless, we do believe that the opportunity to appeal your expulsion should be given to you, should you wish to do so. In such a case, you should inform the Board of this by Friday, November 28th, no later than 5 pm.
Kind regards,
On behalf of the Board of the Democratic Party,
Hasani Ellis, President
Sarah Wescot-Williams, Leader
