PHILIPSBURG--Two new parties have requested to be registered at the Electoral Council by the October 9 deadline to contest the January 9, 2020, election.
Three existing parties also reapplied for their “references,” Electoral Council Chairperson Bert Hofman told The Daily Herald on Thursday.
Recently-launched Party for Progress (PFP) is one of the two new parties that requested to be registered, but Hofman declined to divulge the names of the other parties that also requested registration and references before the Council makes a decision on the requests.
In view of the fact that the nomination date has been set by National Decree on November 21, new political parties had to submit written applications to register with the Electoral Council no later than 6:00pm Wednesday, October 9.
In addition to the application for registration, each political party also had to submit to the Electoral Council a notarial deed containing the party’s Articles of Association; an excerpt from the St. Maarten Chamber of Commerce and Industry (COCI); a statement containing the appointment of the party’s authorised representative and authorised deputy representative; and an application for registration of the reference which is to be placed above the list of candidates.
Any party that lost its reference and wished to re-apply for its reference to be placed above its list also had to do this before the deadline. This is also the case for a party wishing to apply for a change of the reference above its list.
Parties that failed to submit an application for party registration by the deadline will not be able to contest the upcoming election.
