Constitutional affairs obstacle for coalition

September 07, 2010 1:21 PM

The constitutional changes taking effect on 10-10-10 were the main stumbling block during hours of negotiating in which the political leaders of MFK, PS and MAN finally reached an agreement on a new Executive Council of Curaçao that can count on the support of 11 of the 21 Island Council members.

The coalition accord, dubbed "Akuerdo di Alameda," laid the basis for a government during the transition period en route to the new country Curaçao. The Executive Council with six commissioners should be in office for only five weeks.

Agreement had to be reached so there could be a new Executive Council in place on Saturday and because a Curaçao delegation had to leave for the Netherlands on Sunday to have talks within the framework of the final Round Table Conference (RTC) to take place in The Hague on September 9.

It was specifically included in the agreement that the new coalition would govern "together with the people, for the people and in the interest of the entire nation."

The subject of constitutional structure led to considerable discussions between the negotiating parties. PS leader Helmin Wiels felt the new government had no business in the Netherlands and at first stated he could not endorse such a delegation.

This caused considerable tension and even led to an ultimatum by MFK for PS to provide clarity on its participation in government. The parties met for hours and at a certain moment even former prime minister and MAN co-founder Don Martina joined the negotiations.

A compromise was reached, entailing that during the first meeting of the incoming Island Council the new coalition would pass a council decision instructing the delegation in The Hague to seek clarity on a termination regulation for the consensus Kingdom Laws that have meanwhile been proclaimed, to include a procedure in the Kingdom Charter that can lead to the island's independence and to start up a process to change the constitution now on the table after consulting the people in a referendum.

It was initially feared that if the new coalition would not get its way during the RTC in the Netherlands, the delegation might be called back to Curaçao immediately. However, when the new Island Council passed the draft constitution, it was clearly stated that the delegation would sign a final RTC document based on already existing agreements.

5 September, 2010