Electoral reform is being mentioned as one of the reasons the people might not be going back to the polls in February after all. The new William Marlin Cabinet reportedly believes more time may be needed
to make desired adjustments and in particular do something about so-called ship-jumping.
One cannot deny that the practice among Members of Parliament (MPs) of “going independent” to bring about shifts in government has contributed to the relative political instability in recent years, with now five cabinets since country status was achieved per 10-10-10. That probably says more about the level of local politics than it does about lacking legislation, although the reality is that there have been similar issues concerning what is also referred to as “seat theft” in other parts of the Dutch kingdom such as Curaçao, but also the Netherlands.
One aspect people find especially annoying about this phenomenon is that the persons involved often owe their presence in the legislature almost exclusively to the party leadership. With that in mind, political scientist Julio Romney proposed that only those candidates who receive enough preferential votes to earn their seats on their own would “own” them, while the other candidates take office as “non-elected members” who have to give up their seats should the party so decide.
If that system were applied to the 2014 election results only UP leader Theodore Heyliger and NA’s number two Silveria Jacobs would be certain of their positions. Under these circumstances, it seems unlikely that the entire current coalition with a minimal majority of eight in the 15-seat house will even support such a thing.
In any case elected representatives, regardless of their individual popularity, take an oath to exercise the public function in good conscience, which seems to imply that they shouldn’t always have to toe the party line or face dismissal. Taking away that right changes the very nature of St. Maarten’s parliamentary democracy.
