15 organic laws passed by Island Council after debate

August 24, 2010 7:03 AM

PHILIPSBURG--The Rules of Order for the new Parliament were the cause for much debate in the Island Council when they were tabled with fourteen other organic laws on Monday.

Opposition Democratic Party (DP) members were absent for the vote, as they did not agree with several parts and pointed out a number of possible changes from typos and rewording.

When it was time to vote on the Rules of Order, DP Councilman Roy Marlin asked for individual voting. He and the other two DP members – Sarah Wescot-Williams and Leroy de Weever – walked out of Dr. A.C. Wathey Legislative Hall. DP Island Councilwoman Maria Buncamper-Molanus was not present for the last part of the meeting.

The remaining seven members of the council – Commissioners William Marlin, Frans Richardson Hyacinth Richardson and Theo Heyliger (caretaker), Island Councilmen Rodolphe Samuel, George Pantophlet and Louie Laveist – voted for the Rules of Order.

The law on Registration and Financing of Political Parties was also adopted unanimously, putting a cap to the amount any one contributor can give to a political party and candidate combined per year. That amount was set at NAf. 50,000 after some amendments to the law.

The other 13 organic laws, which are derived from articles in the Constitution of Country St. Maarten, were adopted unanimously by the council. These laws are a vital part of the constitutional change process and will be looked at during the vetting Round Table Conference (RTC) in The Hague on September 9. The RTC is seen as one of the last hurdles in the quest for country-within-the-Dutch-Kingdom status on October 10.

Approved unanimously was the Electoral Law, which establishes that the election system for parliamentarians will be based on the number of votes a candidate receives and not based on his or her position on the list. This is the system used for Island Council elections.

Other laws approved were the Integrity Ordinance for ministers, Parliamentary Enquiry, Public Gathering/demonstrations, Openness in Government, Constitutional Court, the ordinance on the position of the Secretary General of Parliament, setup and organisation of the Secretariat of Parliament, pension plan for present and past parliamentarians, travel cost for the council of ministers, travel cost for the members of parliament, and non-activity rule for civil servants who serve in elected office.

The Island Council meeting that started at 2:30pm on Monday continued until early Tuesday morning. The debate centred on the renting of the Caribbean Palm building on Front Street for the offices of the Parliament of Country St. Maarten for which members will be elected on September 17 and sworn in on October 10. The final point on the agenda was the approval of the Social Charter.

Another batch of organic laws is expected to be reviewed and debated by the Central Committee of Island Council next week before they are tabled for official approval by the Island Council by the end of the week.

(Source: St. Maarten Nwespaper The Daily Herald)

24 August, 2010