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.
Saba is a Caribbean island which is the smallest special municipality of the Netherlands. It consists largely of the active volcano Mount Scenery, which at 887 metres (2,910 ft) is the highest point of the entire Kingdom of the Netherlands. The island lies in the northern Leeward Islands portion of the West Indies, southeast of the Virgin Islands. Together with Bonaire and Sint Eustatius it forms the BES islands.
The Democratic Party is a political party in Sint Eustatius with two seats in the 5-seat island council. In 2011, the party obtained 2 seats in the first elections after Sint Eustatius became part of the Netherlands upon the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in 2011. However, their Island Council representative Reuben Merkman left the DP in 2014 and became an independent council member.
The Windward Islands People's Movement (WIPM) is a political party in Saba, which held all five seats in the Island Council after the 2019 elections and until June 1, 2022, when council member Hemmie Van Xanten resigned from the party while continuing to serve as a councilor. When party member Esmeralda Johnson was elected to a seat on the island council in 2019, she became the youngest person ever to serve on it.
The Netherlands Antilles was an autonomous Caribbean country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was dissolved on 10 October 2010.
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, EU law does not automatically apply.
The island council is a form of local government in special municipalities in the Caribbean Netherlands. It is similar to municipal council in the European part of the Netherlands. Currently three island councils exist in:
Provincial elections were held in the Netherlands on Wednesday 18 March 2015. Eligible voters elected the members of the States-Provincial in the twelve provinces. These elections also indirectly determined the members of the Senate, since the 566 members of the twelve States-Provincial will elect the Senate's 75 members in the Senate election on 26 May 2015. These provincial election were held on the same day as the 2015 Dutch water boards elections.
Municipal elections were held on 21 March 2018 in 335 municipalities in the Netherlands. This election determined the composition of the municipal councils for the following four years. The election coincided with the Intelligence and Security Services Act referendum.
The electoral colleges for the Senate are the electoral colleges of the Caribbean Netherlands and Dutch expatriates. Their members together with the members of the States-Provincial in the European Netherlands choose the Senators of the Dutch Senate.
Island council elections were held in the Caribbean Netherlands on 20 March 2019 to elect the members of the island councils of Bonaire and Saba. The elections were held on the same day as the electoral college elections in the Caribbean Netherlands, and the provincial and water board elections in the European Netherlands. The election was won by the Bonaire People's Movement in Bonaire and by the Windward Islands People's Movement in Saba.
Island council elections were held in the Caribbean Netherlands on 2 March 2011 to elect the members of the island councils of Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius. They were the first island council elections since the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in 2010.
Island Council elections were held in Sint Eustatius on 21 October 2020. Sint Eustatius is a special municipality of the Netherlands. The elections were originally to be held on 20 March 2019, but were postponed due to administrative intervention by the Dutch government. On 23 September 2019, a new election date was announced.
Island council elections were held in the Netherlands Antilles on 29 April and 6 May 1983 to elect the members of the island councils of its six island territories. The election was won by the People's Electoral Movement in Aruba, the Bonaire Democratic Party in Bonaire, the New Antilles Movement in Curaçao, the Windward Islands People's 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 10 April and 22 May 1987 to elect the members of the island councils of its five island territories. The election was won by the Bonaire Patriotic Union–Bonaire Workers' Party list in Bonaire, the National People's Party 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 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 9 May and 23 May 2003 to elect the members of the island councils of its five island territories. The election was won by the Bonaire Patriotic Union in Bonaire, the Workers' Liberation Front in Curaçao, the Windward Islands People's 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 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.
Esmeralda Johnson is a politician from Saba, and member of the Saba Island Council for the Windward Islands People's Movement. She has held this post since 28 March 2019 when, at age 21, she became the youngest person to serve in that capacity.
