Governor Eugene Holiday’s decision to task UP fraction leader Franklin Meyers with forming an interim government confirms there are no serious plans for reversing the National Decree of the William Marlin Cabinet II to dissolve Parliament per January 31 or, on the other hand, for withdrawing the motion of no confidence passed by the new UP/DP/Brownbill majority against six of the seven current Ministers. At the same time, naming a “formateur” right away instead of merely an “informateur” to explore the options does suggest a sense of urgency.
The final report on the formation effort is due December 4, well after Nomination Day scheduled this Monday, November 13, for the early elections of January 8. Consequently, a next Council of Ministers probably won’t be able to take office before mid-December, following the usual screening of proposed cabinet members.
Still, it wouldn’t be the first time an electoral process already started is interrupted. At the end of 2015 new political parties had to register by November 9 for snap elections on February 9, 2016, and did so, only to see the latter postponed until September 26.
Experience has thus shown it is theoretically possible to alter the terms and dates in the dissolution decree after the fact, although it involves – again – bending the rules. That would not be very elegant, to say the least, but going back to the polls under the existing dire post-Irma circumstances is even worse in the opinion of many, as reactions by both the Electoral Council and Central Voting Bureau also indicate.
In fact, the incoming coalition should have its transitional government installed sooner rather than later and immediately delay the at-this-moment-highly-undesirable elections for six months or more. This could also help provide the kind of – be it temporary – stability Dutch State Secretary of Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops mentioned as a requirement to release badly-needed reconstruction funds from the Netherlands.
It may seem like a proverbial choice between the devil and the deep blue sea, but that is what will best serve the general interest of the population right now.
