Governor Eugene Holiday ended weeks of constitutional uncertainty with his final statement on the current crisis, indicating he would sign the Gumbs Cabinet’s national decree to dissolve Parliament and hold snap elections, but only after the Ministers make their positions available based on the motion of no confidence
against them. The new NA-led coalition then will have the chance to install an interim Government that will prepare for going back to the polls.
Not surprisingly, this is more or less the same thing that happed in Curaçao when the Schotte Cabinet lost its majority in 2012 and passed a dissolution decree. The new PAR-led majority was allowed to appoint an interim cabinet, but snap elections still took place.
The Governor’s conclusion can be seen as a sort of Solomon’s Ruling, in the sense that the right of the majority to choose its Government is acknowledged, but only for an interim cabinet so the decision of the Council of Ministers still can be respected and elections held. This does not mean either side will be entirely happy, but that’s often the case with compromises.
Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs already has countered that the Governor has to sign the decree before his cabinet steps down. At this point one has to wonder whether it really makes such a big difference which is first or perhaps they even can be done at the same time.
Ultimately, the outgoing UP-led Government got what it wanted in the sense that voters are going back to the polls, but the Gumbs Cabinet will have to leave office from now. The new NA/DP/USP/Lake/Matser majority then will be able to form a next Government as desired, but only for a period of some three to six months.
In other words; both camps scored partial victories, but also suffered partial defeats. In reality, nobody won.
