Parliament of Sint Maarten

Parliament of Sint Maarten Staten van Sint Maarten
5th Parliament of Sint Maarten
Type
Type	Unicameral
History
Founded	10 October 2010 (2010-10-10)
Leadership
Monarch	King Willem-Alexander
Governor	Ajamu Baly
Prime Minister	Silveria Jacobs, NA since 19 November 2019
President of Parliament	Sidharth M. Bijlani, UPP since November 30, 2022
Structure
Seats	15
Parliament political groups	Government   NA (6)   UPP (4) Opposition   USP (2)   PP (2)   UD (1)
Elections
Parliament voting system	Proportional representation
Last Parliament election	9 January 2020
Next Parliament election	11 January 2024
Motto
Latin: coram populo
Website
www.sxmparliament.org

Politics of Sint Maarten
Constitution Governor Ajamu Baly Cabinet Jacobs II Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs Parliament Political parties Elections: 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2024 Referendums: 1994, 2000 Constitutional Court
Other countries
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The Parliament of Sint Maarten (Dutch: Staten van Sint Maarten) is a unicameral legislature that consists of 15 members, each elected for a four-year term in a general election. The first parliament was installed on 10 October 2010, the date of the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles, and consisted of the members of the predecessor island council elected on 17 September 2010.^[1] The current President of Parliament is Grisha Heyliger-Marten.^[2]

Role and function

The parliament is the highest legislative body of the country and represents the entire population of the Dutch side of the island. The parliament consists of 15 members who are elected for a four-year period. The session year of parliament commences on the second Tuesday of September. During this session, the Governor provides an explanation of the policy to be pursued by the government. The parliament elects a President and Deputy President from its own numbers. The President of Parliament opens and closes the session year of the Parliament. Parliament is sometimes called a "co-legislator" with the Government, because both have control over policy.

Parliament's powers include:

• The right to approve and amend the budget
• The right of interpellation where each Member of Parliament (MP) has the right to question ministers of government in the General Assembly of Parliament
• The right of initiative allows MPs to submit draft laws on their own initiative
• The right to amendment, allows MPs to amend legislation that has been submitted to Parliament
• The right to ask questions, every MP can question a Minister orally or in writing
• The right to instigate inquiries allows parliament to institute an inquiry into the state of affairs in an event in which Government is involved

2020 general election

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	National Alliance	4,715	35.36	6	+1
	United People's Party	3,231	24.23	4	+4
	United St. Maarten Party	1,762	13.21	2	0
	Party for Progress	1,407	10.55	2	New
	United Democrats	1,161	8.71	1	–6
	St. Maarten Christian Party	759	5.69	0	–1
	People's Progressive Alliance	326	2.45	0	0
Invalid/blank votes		402	–	–	–
Total		13,735	100	15	0
Registered voters/turnout		23,106	59.44	–	–
Source: Government of Sint Maarten

Current parliament

The Government of Sint Maarten is based on a political party having a majority of the 15 seats in parliament. A political party would need to have eight seats in order to govern outright. However, more than one party can form a Government if parties can reach an agreement to do so. An independent member of parliament can also be part of the ranks of the opposition or be part of the governing party or coalition.

Current members of parliament were seated on February 9, 2024, following the 2024 Sint Maarten general election. As of March 2024, the cabinet is still under formation.^[3]

See also

• Estates of the Netherlands Antilles
• Kingdom of the Netherlands

References

External links

• The Parliament of Dutch Sint Maarten - official website