The election result in Curaçao, the country with which St. Maarten is in a monetary union including shared Central Bank and joint currency, was notable in various aspects. For starters, PAR won again after seven years and its new leader became the most popular politician on the island.
But the other two biggest parties MAN and MFK also grew, while in contrast several smaller ones such as KdNT, PS, PNP and “Hustu” all shrank, the latter two losing their only seat in the process. Citizens were said to have used this strategy out of fear of wasting their vote.
To a certain extent it was a contest between two camps: one headed by MAN/PAR that called the early election after losing its parliamentary majority and the other headed by MFK/KdNT that backed the interim cabinet and wanted to cancel the vote. It appears more people sided with the former group by giving it 12 seats compared to the latter’s 9.
This is important for St. Maarten too, where two cases of an outgoing government wanting to dissolve Parliament and call snap elections, but also the role of so-called “ship-jumpers,” led to much controversy. In Curaçao many seemed to feel the elections should not be taken away once announced.
The PAR/MAN/PIN coalition in the making in Willemstad has a good opportunity to provide the island with a stable government following a lot of political turmoil. However, recent experience has shown that whether it will complete the full four-year term is anybody’s guess.
