Today’s report that St. Maarten – just like Curaçao – failed to make use of an offer by the Dutch Government to have international observers for the election might prompt suggestions local authorities weren’t too sure of themselves. The opposite is
actually true, as there was simply never any reason to doubt the democratic process in the first place.
The best proof is probably the full recount in the past two days, whereby every single ballot was again checked by the Central Voting Bureau in a public meeting broadcast on radio and television. Apart from a few small errors, there were no indications of major and/or suspect discrepancies.
Politicians in The Hague who asked questions about this can rest assured. Most people manning the polling stations and otherwise involved have been doing this job in a professional and honest manner already for years, no doubt seeing to it that all newcomers follow suit.
The lack of outside observers at last week’s elections can clearly be considered a non-issue. Perhaps because the biggest vote-getters on each list get to occupy Parliament seats earned by the respective parties, individual candidates are very keen to make sure no mistake is left uncorrected, as their immediate political future may depend on such.
It’s safe to say St. Maarten’s elections are not only free and fair, but also transparent
