PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — In a press release issued by the United Sint Maarten Party (USP) said the following: First of all the governor can’t call elections, the governor represents the interest of the Kingdom and will handle in such capacity primarily that’s’ his role.
Secondly the electoral laws nor the constitution doesn’t speak of independent members but yet we have had for years that party candidates that got a certain amount of votes while being part of a party has been declaring themselves independent with no legal grounds to it and like everything else it continues its course. Illegality in Sint Maarten seems to norm of the day. Everyone makes their own rule when it suits them and everyone else follows fashion and no one contests it based on existing laws.
Then you have the other phenomenon that coalition partner’s sign a government accord, members of the coalition parties declare themselves independent. Do we have to assume that this automatically means that they withdraw their support well or can it be that they declare themselves independent but yet are supporting the existing government.
If the latter is the case then this means that the existing coalition still counts with the original members of all 10 which is actually still supporting the coalition. If this is not the case then I hope that all the MP’s that formed part of the coalition partners that declared themselves independent has also put in writing that they hereby withdraw their support of the prior government accord. To that extent a new governing accord has to be signed as it doesn’t make no sense to govern with a minority. But this impasse state doesn’t really matter for this sitting government actually as they are not into getting things done and pass laws for the betterment of the country and its people.
Their truthful intention is to ride out the storm and this is the right scenario to sit this out and continue pretending that efforts are being made and playing the blame game while being the root of it all. This is an impasse, nothing can happen, nothing will happen and nothing will change because that’s the intention for things to remain the same. The bickering is all part of the façade. It’s impossible with so much that this country has to be dealing with, that nothing is being done to remedy existing situations that deserve the attention of parliament. A place where laws are supposed to be tabled on a regular basis. It makes you wonder what is more important “the monthly salary or is it about steering the country in the right direction and helping the people.”
Last but not least in the event a new governing accord has to be signed; which is not a must because a government can govern by minority which of course we know nothing can get done in such conditions; then the question will be, the USP has 2 seats which by law is still in existence as those 2 seats represents the voters that voted for USP. Besides the fact that the declaring oneself independent is questionable, what is also questionable is the fact that an expelled member can not represent the party from which he has been expelled by doing so publicly or in writing on any official document, this is considered by law to be illegal, unlawful, unethical and punishable by law. And USP will then legally pursued this as it is “willfull and knowingly misrepresentation” which again is punishable by law.
All institutions and parties that condone this will be considered as traitors and co-conspirators to their own constitution that they sworn in to uphold. USP in no way forms part of discussions held with no new coalition accord as an expelled member can not sign off on something that doesn’t belong to him/her. Let it be for the record that existing government is actually running on the original 9 or if this is not the case then members of coalition that declared themselves independent needs to specify as well that they have withdrawn their support to this existing coalition and that the old government accord that was signed by the 9 still stands and let the chips fall where it may.
Stop the dancing in parliament and take the people seriously, MP Brownbill is voting as Brownbill not in representation of the USP.
