Dear Editor,
The Constitution of Sint Maarten was unanimously adopted by the island council of Sint Maarten on July 21, 2010, and entered into force on October 10, 2010, the date of the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles.
The Constitution does not grant anyone or any entity the authority to postpone or cancel a Dissolution Decree once it has “entered into force” by publication, according to Article 89, including His Excellency drs Eugene Holiday, The Council of Ministers or Parliament of Sint Maarten.
A dissolution of Parliament requires new Elections. Therefore, elections must be held according to the Dissolution Decree (Landbesluit Van de 28e oktober 2015, no. LB-15/0951) on February 9, 2016.
Article 59 of the Constitution, unlike Article 33, is an Article that must be enforced “as is.”
Article 59:
1. Parliament may be dissolved by national decree.
2. An order for dissolution shall also require new elections to be held for Parliament which has been dissolved and the newly elected Parliament to meet within three months.
3. The dissolution shall take effect on the day on which the newly elected Parliament meets.
We, the people of Sint Maarten “… declare that we are a people that believe in the principle of democracy, the rule of law, the principle of the segregation of powers, the dignity and value of the individual, the entitlement of all persons to the fundamental rights and freedoms; …”
Lisa Alexander
