There is quite a bit of anticipation to see how today’s plenary session to examine and approve the credentials of and to admit incoming Members of Parliament (MPs) Richinel Brug of United Resilient St. Maarten Movement (USRM) and Viren Vinod Kotai of the Democratic Party (DP) progresses. They are to replace respectively newly-sworn-in Prime Minister Luc Mercelina and Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication Grisha Heyliger-Marten.
An earlier attempt on Thursday failed because the entire opposition and coalition members of Nation Opportunity Wealth (NOW) and Party for Progress (PFP) were absent, some with notice.
As a consequence, the URSM/DP/PFP/NOW government that just took office currently lacks majority support in the legislature. Restoring such immediately will depend on cooperation from the National Alliance (NA) and/or United People’s (UP) party factions to establish a quorum and admit the two elected representatives next in line.
To act as though there is no problem would be naive. Governor Ajamu Baly did not sign the national decrees for NOW-leader Christophe Emmanuel and former PFP parliamentarian Raeyhon Peterson to become ministers. The latter has asked the governor to clarify why, either directly or via ex-“formateur” Mercelina.
This means the current Council of Ministers at the moment has only five of its usual seven members, with two consequently handling double portfolios. That’s hardly ideal but certainly manageable as recent experience shows, at least for the short term.
If the coalition sticks together despite this setback, it is likely that opposition members will lend a hand to restore Parliament to its intended 15 seats. After all, that would seem in the best interest of society and democratic rule.
