Referendum law passed in Bonaire

February 09, 2010 4:49 AM

BONAIRE--The Island Council adopted the Bonaire 2010 Referendum Ordinance with a majority but no consensus. The referendum will be held on March 26.

As expected, the five members of the ADB/Nicolaas coalition voted in favour and the four UPB members against. The other stipulations in the law, such as the presentation of the question and the eligible voters, were also approved.

After a six-hour meeting in Pasanggrahan, during which all members made the most of their speaking time, no agreement could be reached on the two largest obstacles, namely the presentation of the questions and the eligible voters.

UPB stood firm that many European Dutch citizens should be excluded from voting because it would be very convenient to the coalition. Furthermore, as far as the opposition party was concerned, the option for “association” was over and done with; that constitutional relationship had been discussed and worked out in 1993, but other choices had been made in the meantime.

In turn, the ADB/Nicolaas coalition kept hammering at the fact that the choices made in the draft law had been well substantiated, according to international law.

As an example, they mentioned the upcoming referendum in New Caledonia (a French territory), where inhabitants were only allowed to vote after they had lived on the island for 20 years. Even that was permitted, according to the European Court for Human Rights.

ADB leader Jopie Abraham therefore wondered why European Dutch citizens with only a three-year contract to work on the island should be allowed to vote on the future of Bonaire.

For Anthony Nicolaas (ex-UPB) it was mainly important that the referendum be held, he said, irrespective of the date and questions.

The most notable thing about the meeting was the introduction by Lt. Governor Glenn Thodé at the start. As Chairman of the Island Council, he made use of his right, according to Article 69 of the Islands Regulation ERNA and Article 25-2 of the Rules of Order, to make an urgent appeal to the council members to reach a consensus.

This led to an outraged remark from Abraham on the lack of objectivity.

Thodé also asked members to reconsider the restriction of the right to participate in the referendum: “I want to state that our Island Council represents the entire population of Bonaire and not just a part. Therefore, I advise the Island Council to consider whether it actually wants to restrict the right to participate in the referendum.  “What are the reasons to bar people you represent based on our normal suffrage, from voting? Think about the Arubans who have been living here for two years, or children of Bonairean citizens born in the Netherlands and having returned to the island. Must we fear their vote?"

2 February 2010