The Daily Herald
April 20 is Election Day
By The Daily Herald
Jan 18, 2007, 12:56 UTC

PHILIPSBURG - Elections for the Island Council are now definitely set for April 20, Leader of Government Commissioner Sarah Wescot-Williams has announced.

Wescot-Williams said the Executive Council had decided to hold the elections on that day. Given that date and in keeping with the laws that govern elections for the Island Territory, the day to submit the lists of candidates (nomination day), has been set for March 1.

The elections will be strictly for a new Island Council that has 11 seats, not for a Parliament of the country St. Maarten, which will have 15 seats. There is no basis to hold other elections or change the number of seats, said Wescot-Williams.

The voters’ registry at the Census Office will be closed on January 30. There is a procedure for those persons who aren’t listed in the voters’ registry and who still want to be added to the list after that date.

A decision in principle to hold the elections on April 20 had been taken earlier, but the definite date wasn’t announced until now because of the need for consultations with the Carnival Foundation pertaining to this year’s Carnival celebrations, scheduled to officially start on April 18.

Wescot-Williams said the Carnival foundation had been contacted and it would make adjustments where necessary, to make sure the events don’t clash. The Grand Parade is traditionally on April 30, which will be 10 days after the elections.

With the announcement by the Commissioner during the Executive Council press briefing on Wednesday, government has put an end to speculations and reports about the different possible dates of the elections for the new Island Council.

However, because of imminent constitutional changes, the new Island Council is not likely to sit for a full four-year term. During that period the transfer of status from island territory to country should take place. That change will make it necessary for a changeover from the Island Council to a Parliament.

However, to make the elected Island Council function as Parliament, and in case it is not feasible to organise elections again before the first Parliament of the country St. Maarten, major law changes will have to take place before that date to facilitate the transfer.

Wescot-Williams said that the wider the gap between the 2007 Island Council elections and the actual convening of the first Parliament, the “more crucial” the question would become whether those elected as members of the Island Council could also take up seats in Parliament.

Wescot-Williams said St. Maarten hoped and would be insisting to the Central and Kingdom Governments that the transitional law, which has to be enacted on Kingdom level, is ready by July 1, 2007.

This would be necessary to give the island territory a “better idea” about the date of country status and would be tied into the transition from Island Council to Parliament. That transition is rather comprehensive and the issue whether a sitting Island Council can become a Parliament is still under debate, she concluded.