BONAIRE--Bonaire’s Lt. Governor Glenn Thode has used his authority, based on Article 98 of the Islands Regulation, to withhold proclamation of the referendum ordinance passed by the ADB/Nicolaas majority in the Island Council last Friday.
This means that the referendum ordinance can be annulled by Antillean Governor Frits Goedgedrag.
In that case, the Island Council must meet again to deal with the draft ordinance. This has put in doubt whether the island’s third population consultation on constitutional affairs can still take place on March 26 as planned.
In his letter to Goedgedrag, Thode argued that the ordinance did not sufficiently take into account the United Nations (UN) report “Recommendations of the Needs Assessment Mission to Bonaire – December 1 to 5, 2009.” He referred to advice on the date, the question formulation, the international practice of consensus in such cases and voter restrictions.
Based on the aforementioned, Thode concluded that the referendum as planned “cannot withstand the test of international law.” It would be in violation of the general interest of the Dutch Kingdom, and would be at the expense of Bonaire’s interest in particular.
