Dear Editor,
We all agree that Sint Maarten is terribly off in the wrong direction. Following the devastation of Hurricane Irma, programs and policies are not sufficiently coherent and interconnected five months after. At first glance while it may seem that there is economic activity overall, many of our citizens and businesses are having a real hardship making ends meet. Beneath the surface of their daily existence, the quality of life of our people has seriously deteriorated, businesses continue to struggle to keep personnel or they are being laid off. Amidst all this turbulence and uncertainties, new snap elections have been called. Why?
The bluff of the people has been called by those political parties who failed our citizens miserably in their representation of their duties, especially in the last couple of years.
PPA believes that the people and only the people have the opportunity to decide which political party has the appropriate vision and programs, transparency in decision making for the future direction of this beautiful island. Staying home out of understandable frustration, or to “spite” all parties, is not helpful. Not casting your vote will, most likely than not, keep the same parties in office.
Because of the uncertainties and clear reasons to the voters why we must once again go to the polls in less than 18 months, while a normal election cycle is four years, it is imperative to have observers on Sint Maarten to witness this most important democratic process. There is too much at stake.
After the polls are closed, we must all be assured that people voted their conscience and that the electoral process was conducted in a free and fair manner.
Having observers in Sint Maarten is nothing new. At the time of our first referendum which was successfully organized and held in 1994, being the chairman of the referendum committee, we invited among others a (Mr. Nour-Edine) United Nations representative to be present and witness the Referendum. We had a very pleasant and professional working relationship as well with former Ambassador for the United Nations Drs. Lucita Moenir-Alam, who guided us through the process of our first referendum. Her experience and support was invaluable.
Another example of observers being part of an electoral process on the islands of the former Netherlands Antilles is the fact that during the last elections held on the island of Curaçao, Sint Maarten as well as Aruba, including international organizations such as the CARICOM and OAS were invited and participated fully as observers.
Why not extend a similar courtesy and invite the aforementioned entities including from the Netherlands to be present?
It’s not too late for the interim Council of Ministers to do the right thing and extend this invitation to have a delegation of observers present. In the interest of safeguarding the democratic process guiding our elections, especially after our citizens have experienced great personal and material losses followed by loss of faith in our political leaderships at both the Government and Parliament level, it’s imperative to have a sense of comfort and confidence that all processes and procedures are open and transparent before, during and after the polls are closed and the votes are counted.
Gracita Arrindell
Leader, People’s Progressive Alliance (PPA)
