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I agree that Bonaire has become a public entity within the meaning of Article 134 of the Dutch Constitution | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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A constitutional referendum was held in Bonaire on 17 December 2010. The new constitution would make the island a municipality within the Netherlands. Although the results showed 88% had voted against the new status, [1] the referendum had required a 51% turnout and was subsequently declared invalid as the actual turnout was only 35%. [2]
The Netherlands Antilles was scheduled to cease to exist on 10 October 2010. [3] Under the current terms of the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles, Bonaire will become a fully integrated municipality within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. [4] This may be changed should voters choose to become an associated state within the Netherlands instead. [5]
The referendum was called after a government changeover from the Bonaire Patriotic Union (UPB), led by Ramonsito Booi, to the Bonaire Democratic Alliance (ADB), led by Jopie Abraham. The referendum was a key point of contention between the two parties. [6] The succession was triggered by the departure of Anthony Nicolaas from the ruling coalition, an act which is being investigated as being a result of corruption. [7]
The enabling legislation decided that the referendum should be worded "Ik wil dat Bonaire een rechtstreekse band met Nederland zal hebben in de vorm van A. Associatie (Bonaire krijgt een eigenstandige positie binnen het Koninkrijk) of B. Integratie (Bonaire wordt deel van Nederland)" [8] (I desire that Bonaire shall have a direct tie with the Netherlands in the form of A: Association (Bonaire holds an independent position inside the Kingdom) or B: Integration (Bonaire becomes a part of the Netherlands)).
The set date for the referendum was originally set as 15 January 2010, exactly one week before the Netherlands Antilles general election. [5] The date was chosen so it would not conflict with the general election. [5] Other dates originally considered for the referendum were 11 December 2009, and 19 March 2010. [5] The referendum did not take place on January 15, and was rescheduled to 26 March 2010 before being cancelled. [9]
The Netherlands indicated that it would not cooperate if the referendum favors free association, stating "that the only alternative to the process of integration currently in execution was independence". [10] Previously agreed upon payments from the Kingdom to Bonaire have been placed on hold pending the outcome of the referendum. [11]
| Choice | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| For | 391 | 11.96 | |
| Against | 2,879 | 88.04 | |
| Total | 3,270 | 100.00 | |
| Valid votes | 3,270 | 95.78 | |
| Invalid votes | 99 | 2.90 | |
| Blank votes | 45 | 1.32 | |
| Total votes | 3,414 | 100.00 | |
| Registered voters/turnout | 9,698 | 35.20 | |
| Source: Direct Democracy | |||
The Netherlands Antilles was a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The country consisted of several island territories located in the Caribbean Sea. The islands were also informally known as the Dutch Antilles. The country came into being in 1954 as the autonomous successor of the Dutch colony of Curaçao and Dependencies. The Antilles were dissolved in 2010. The Dutch colony of Surinam, although it was relatively close by on the continent of South America, did not become part of the Netherlands Antilles but became a separate autonomous country in 1954. All the island territories that belonged to the Netherlands Antilles remain part of the kingdom today, although the legal status of each differs. As a group they are still commonly called the Dutch Caribbean, regardless of their legal status. People from this former territory continue to be called Antilleans in the Netherlands.
Bonaire is a Dutch island in the Leeward Antilles in the Caribbean Sea. Its capital is the port of Kralendijk, on the west (leeward) coast of the island. Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao form the ABC islands, 80 km off the coast of Venezuela. Unlike much of the Caribbean region, the ABC islands lie outside Hurricane Alley. The islands have an arid climate that attracts visitors seeking warm, sunny weather all year round. Bonaire is a popular snorkeling and scuba diving destination because of its multiple shore diving sites and easy access to the island's fringing reefs.
The Netherlands Antilles national football team was the national team of the former Netherlands Antilles from 1958 to 2010. It was controlled by the Nederlands Antilliaanse Voetbal Unie. The NAVU consisted of Curaçao and Bonaire. Aruba split in 1986 and has its own team.
Same-sex marriages are not performed in Aruba, Curaçao, or Sint Maarten, which are constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The islands were obliged after several court rulings to register any marriage registered in the Kingdom, but this primarily considers residency rights, and they do not have to give same-sex marriages the same legal effect as opposite-sex marriages. Marriage in the European territory of the Netherlands, as well as in the Caribbean municipalities of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, is open to any two people irrespective of sex.
The Netherlands Antilles was an autonomous Caribbean country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was dissolved on 10 October 2010.
The Kingdom of the Netherlands, commonly known as simply the Netherlands, consists of the entire area in which the monarch of the Netherlands functions as head of state. The realm is not a federation; it is a collection of states and territories united under its monarch. 98% of its territory and population is in Western Europe; it also includes several small West Indian island territories in the Caribbean.
General elections were held in the Netherlands Antilles on 22 January 2010. Voters elected the 22 members of the Estates, or parliament, of the Netherlands Antilles. It has been the country's last general election, as the Netherlands Antilles have ceased to exist as a country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands on 10 October 2010. At the time of the elections, the Netherlands Antilles consisted of the Caribbean islands of Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius and Sint Maarten.
The Caribbean Netherlands are the three public bodies of the Netherlands that are located in the Caribbean Sea. They consist of the islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, although the term "Caribbean Netherlands" is sometimes used to refer to all of the islands in the Dutch Caribbean. In legislation, the three islands are also known as Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba or the BES islands. The islands are currently classified as public bodies in the Netherlands and as overseas countries and territories of the European Union; thus, European Union law does not automatically apply.
The three public bodies of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba started issuing postal stamps after the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in 2010. The islands form a separate postage region under the name Caribisch Nederland .
The Dutch Caribbean are the territories, colonies, and countries, former and current, of the Dutch Empire and the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Caribbean Sea. They are in the north and south-west of the Lesser Antilles archipelago.
This article lists some of the events that took place in the Netherlands in 2010.
Evelyna Christina "Evelyn" Wever-Croes is an Aruban politician and current Prime Minister of Aruba, serving since November 2017. She is the first woman to hold this office. She is a member of the People's Electoral Movement (MEP) and has been the leader of the party since 2011.
Dominico Felipe "Don" Martina is a Curaçaoan politician. He served two terms as Prime Minister of the Netherlands Antilles. His first term lasted from November 1979 to October 1984 and his second term from January 1986 to July 1988.
Jaime Mercelino Saleh is a Dutch Antillean politician and former judge. He was a judge on the Joint Court of Justice of the Netherlands Antilles from 1974 to 1990 and was its president from 1979. Saleh subsequently served as Governor of the Netherlands Antilles between 1990 and 2002.
The first De Jongh-Elhage cabinet was the 26th cabinet of the Netherlands Antilles.
General elections in the Netherlands Antilles took place on 18 January 2002.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba since 10 October 2012, the effective date of legislation passed by the States General of the Netherlands enabling same-sex couples to marry.
Island council elections were held in the Netherlands Antilles on 7 April and 12 May 1995 to elect the members of the island councils of its five island territories. The election was won by the Bonaire Democratic Party in Bonaire, the Party for the Restructured Antilles in Curaçao, the Saba Democratic Labour Movement in Saba, the Democratic Party Statia in Sint Eustatius, and the Democratic Party in Sint Maarten.
Island council elections were held in the Netherlands Antilles on 7 May and 21 May 1999 to elect the members of the island councils of its five island territories. The election was won by the Party for the Restructured Antilles in Curaçao, the Windward Islands People's Movement in Saba, the Sint Eustatius Alliance in Sint Eustatius, and the Democratic Party in Sint Maarten.
Island council elections were held in the Netherlands Antilles on 20 April 2007 to elect the members of the island councils of its five island territories. They were the last regular island council elections before the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in 2010.
