Eligible voters throughout the Dutch Kingdom head to the polls today, Thursday, to vote in the European Parliament elections. All Dutch citizens have the right to vote for Members of the European Parliament.
However, only 95 persons are registered to vote out of some 22,559 Dutch citizens living in St. Maarten. One of the reasons for the low voter number is that Dutch citizens here had to register online to vote while those with the same right in the Netherlands and the public entities of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba are automatically registered to vote upon attaining age 18. This is a similar process in the French Republic, including St. Martin. The lone polling station in St. Maarten is at Office of the Dutch Representation on Front Street. Those 95 voters have up to 3:00pm today to cast their ballots. In photo: Head of the Dutch Representation on St. Maarten Chris Johnson speaks about the elections with St. Martin-based IOTV journalist Tracy Laville. (Rajesh Chintaman photo)
