Aruban general election, 2009

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General elections were held in Aruba on 25 September 2009. [1] The elections were the seventh to be held for membership of the Estates since autonomy was granted by the Dutch in 1986, and resulted in a victory for the Aruban People's Party, which won 12 of the 21 seats in the Estates.

Aruba Island country in the Caribbean, part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands

Aruba is an island and a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the southern Caribbean Sea, located about 1,600 kilometres (990 mi) west of the main part of the Lesser Antilles and 29 kilometres (18 mi) north of the coast of Venezuela. It measures 32 kilometres (20 mi) long from its northwestern to its southeastern end and 10 kilometres (6 mi) across at its widest point. Together with Bonaire and Curaçao, Aruba forms a group referred to as the ABC islands. Collectively, Aruba and the other Dutch islands in the Caribbean are often called the Dutch Caribbean.

Aruban Peoples Party political party

The Aruban People's Party is a Christian democratic political party in Aruba founded in 1942. AVP is an acronym for the Dutch name of the party.

Estates of Aruba

The Estates of Aruba are the unicameral legislature or parliament of Aruba. The Estates have 21 members, elected for a four-year term by proportional representation. Each member holds their seats until Parliament is dissolved which is every four years by a general election. The leader of the party who gains majority usually becomes the Prime Minister.

Contents

Background

Prior to this election the People's Electoral Movement (MEP) were the governing party, holding eleven seats. [2] The main opposition Aruban People's Party (AVP) held eight with the Network of Electoral Democracy and the Aruban Patriotic Movement holding a seat apiece. [2]

Peoples Electoral Movement (Aruba) political party in Aruba

The People's Electoral Movement is a social democratic political party in Aruba. In the 2001 elections for the Estates, 28 September 2001, the party won 52.4% of popular votes and 12 out of 21 seats. 23 September 2005, the party won 43% of the popular vote and 11 out of 21 seats and remained, led by Nelson Oduber in government. in the Aruban general election, 2009, MEP lost 2 seats and won 36% of the vote, subsequently losing the election.

Network of Electoral Democracy Aruban political party

Democratic Electoral Network is a political party in Aruba. At the elections for the Estates of 2005 and 2017, the party obtained sufficient votes for 1 out of 21 seats. In 2009 and 2013 it participated but did not obtain a seat.

Aruban Patriotic Movement

The Aruban Patriot Movement is a political party in Aruba, formed by dissidents of the Aruban Patriotic Party. At the last elections for the Estates, 23 September 2005, the party won 7% of the popular vote and 1 out of 21 seats. The party lost its one seat in the 2009 election.

Electoral system

The 21 members of the Estates were elected for a four-year term using proportional representation, carried out in a single nationwide constituency. Each party was allowed to place up to 29 people on their party list. [1] The party or coalition with a majority was allowed to select a Prime Minister. [2]

Proportional representation (PR) characterizes electoral systems in which divisions in an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. If n% of the electorate support a particular political party, then roughly n% of seats will be won by that party. The essence of such systems is that all votes contribute to the result - not just a plurality, or a bare majority. The most prevalent forms of proportional representation all require the use of multiple-member voting districts, as it is not possible to fill a single seat in a proportional manner. In fact, the implementations of PR that achieve the highest levels of proportionality tend to include districts with large numbers of seats.

Prime Minister of Aruba position

The Prime Minister of Aruba is the head government. Together with Aruba's Council of Ministers, they form the executive branch of Aruban government.

Campaign

Eight parties and 167 independents contested the elections. [3] The Aruban Director of the Register of Population and electoral council member Sharline Luidens forbade the press from taking photos inside polling stations during the election. [4]

Pre-election polls showed the AVP were expected to win, campaigning to reduce inflation and abolish a tax on local business. [2] The AVP also pledged to address concerns over the island's oil refinery operated by Valero Energy, which had been closed since mid-July 2009 and had provided jobs for around one thousand people, as well as a recent decline in tourists visiting the island. [5] The People's Electoral Movement (MEP) pledged to diversify the economy and reduce debt and living costs. [2]

Oil refinery industrial process plant where crude oil is processed and refined into more useful products

Oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where crude oil is transformed and refined into more useful products such as petroleum naphtha, gasoline, diesel fuel, asphalt base, heating oil, kerosene, liquefied petroleum gas, jet fuel and fuel oils. Petrochemicals feed stock like ethylene and propylene can also be produced directly by cracking crude oil without the need of using refined products of crude oil such as naphtha.

The parties were represented by specific colors during the campaign; the AVP was known as the "green party," the MEP was the "yellow party" and the independent Real Democracy Party was identified as the "red party." [3]

Results

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Aruban People's Party 26,47648.0312+4
People's Electoral Movement 19,80435.938–3
Aruban Patriotic Movement 2,4444.430–1
Real Democracy Party 3,1445.701+1
Network 2,3784.310–1
Aruban Patriotic Party 6111.1100
United Christians Reinforcing Aruba's Potential1390.250New
MSI–OLA 1250.2300
Invalid/blank votes629–––
Total55,750100210
Registered voters/turnout64,60286.30––
Source: Overheid

A turnout of 86% was recorded for the election which proceeded without disruption. [2] [5] Governor Fredis Refunjol and his wife, Clarette, voted at the Sacred Heart School in Savaneta early Friday morning and urged all Arubans to vote as well. [3] Incumbent Prime Minister Nelson Oduber and his wife, Glenda, cast their ballots at the EPB School in Hato, on the edge of Oranjestad. [3] AVP leader Mike Eman voted in the afternoon at the Colegio Arubano, a junior-senior high school, with his wife, Doina, and his brother, Henny Eman, who was Aruba's first Prime Minister. [3] Doina Eman, who is originally from the United States, had recently acquired her Dutch passport and this was the first Aruban election in which she was eligible to vote. [3]

Polls closed in Aruba at 7:00 pm local time. [3] Early results began filtering in approximately 8:30 pm. The first results reported in were from the Noord District, which showed a marked support for the AVP. [3] Twelve election precincts in Oranjestad, the capital, were also won by the AVP early in the evening. [3] The AVP, which is identified by the color green, also won eight polling stations in San Nicolas, the site of the recently closed Valero Energy oil refinery.

Support declined for Nelson Obuder's MEP party across the island. The MEP, which is known as the "yellow party", captured its traditional stronghold of Santa Cruz, as well as precincts in portions of Savaneta and Paradera. [3] Support for the MEP ultimately dropped from eleven to eight seats in the Estates. [6]

The AVP, led by Mike Eman, claimed 48% of the vote and twelve seats in the Estates, making Eman the 5th Prime Minister-Elect of Aruba with an absolute majority of three seats in the 21-seat House. [5] The MEP won 36% of the vote and eight seats, with the final seat being won by the Real Democracy Party. [5] This meant that Nelson Oduber, the demissionary Prime Minister of Aruba, had lost control of the Estates for the first time in eight years. [5] Eman arrived at the AVP party headquarters in Oranjestad, where he was greeted by approximately 2,000 supporters dressed in green, the color of the AVP. [3] The victory was marked by AVP supporters letting off fireworks and unfurling flags in the green livery of the party. [5] In his speech, Eman thanked Aruba's Latino and Haitian communities. [6] The winning party of an Aruban election traditionally celebrates with a parade following the election. [6]

Reactions

Oduber blamed the MEP's defeat on Dutch interference in Aruba's affairs, in particular referring to a recent announcement that the Dutch authorities would commence an investigation into corruption on the island. [6] [7] Oduber also singled out Valero Energy CEO Bill Klesse, accusing him of taking sides in the election against the MEP by closing the refinery shortly before the election took place. [6] In a speech carried only on Aruban Channel 22, Oduber did not congratulate the winning AVP. [6] Instead, he said that the AVP should work to fulfill its "unreal promise" to Arubans. [6]

Related Research Articles

Aruba's first inhabitants were the Caquetio Indians from the Arawak tribe, who migrated there from Venezuela to escape attacks by the Caribs. Fragments of the earliest known Indian settlements date back to about 1000. Due to Aruba's mostly distant location from other Caribbean islands and strong currents in the sea which made canoe travel to the other islands difficult, the Caquetios remained more tied to South America than the Caribbean.

Nelson Oduber Aruban politician

Nelson Orlando Oduber was the Prime Minister of Aruba. He was a member of the Movimiento Electoral di Pueblo. He was prime minister for the first time from 1989 until 1994, when his party lost parliamentary elections, and was prime minister again from 2001 until 2009. He led the MEP to victory in the 2001 and 2005 Estates elections, the first consecutive election victories since Aruban status aparte in 1986.

Fredis Refunjol Aruban politician

Fredis Jose Refunjol is an Aruban politician and former Governor of Aruba. Originally a teacher, he has served as a government official for the past twenty years, starting as a Member of the Estates of Aruba.

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, however, obliged after several court rulings to register any marriage registered in the Kingdom, but they don't have to give same-sex marriages the same legal effect as opposite-sex marriages. As marriage in the European territory of the Netherlands, as well as in the Caribbean Netherlands is open to any two people, marriages performed there have to be registered in the islands.

Jossy Mehsen Mansur was the editor of the Papiamento-language newspaper Diario in Aruba. He wrote two dictionaries for the Papiamento language and a history of Aruba among other books.

San Nicolaas Town in Aruba

San Nicolaas is 19 kilometres (12 mi) southeast of Oranjestad, and is Aruba's second largest city. As of 2008 it has a population of 18,126, most of whom originate from the British Caribbean and rest of the Caribbean. It is also home to Aruba's only race track.

Henny Eman Aruban politician

Jan Hendrik Albert "Henny" Eman was the first Prime Minister of Aruba from 1 January 1986 to 9 February 1989 and again from 29 July 1994 to 30 October 2001.

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Francisco Walfrido "Frido" Croes is an Aruban politician and former schoolteacher who held the office of Minister Plenipotentiary of Aruba from 2005 to 2009.

Mike Eman Aruban politician

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The history of the Jews in Aruba can be traced back to the 16th century, when the first Jewish immigrants began to arrive. The first Jews in Aruba were Sephardi Jewish immigrants from Netherlands and Portugal. The first Jew to settle in Aruba was a Portuguese-Jewish worker for the Dutch West Indies Company named Moses Solomon Levie Maduro, who arrived in Aruba with his family in 1754.

Antonito Gordiano "Mito" Croes was an Aruban politician of the Aruban People's Party. He served as Minister Plenipotentiary of Aruba from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as member of the Estates and government minister of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba.

Evelyn Wever-Croes Dutch politician, tax inspector and lawyer

Evelyna Christina "Evelyn" Wever-Croes is an Aruban politician and current Prime Minister of Aruba, serving since 17 November 2017. She is the first woman to hold this position. She is a member of the People's Electoral Movement (MEP) and has been the leader of the party since 2011.

Juan David Yrausquin is an Aruban politician. He was Minister Plenipotentiary of Aruba between 17 November 2016 and 20 November 2017. He was Minister of Finance between 2013 and 2014 in the second Mike Eman cabinet.

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Guillfred Francis Besaril is an Aruban politician of the People's Electoral Movement. He has been Minister Plenipotentiary of Aruba since 20 November 2017. He previously served in the Estates of Aruba between 2013 and November 2017, the last month as President.

Dangui Oduber Aruban politician

Danguillaume Pierino Oduber is the current Minister of Tourism, Public Health and Sport of Aruba. He previously served as a member of the Estates of Aruba from November 2013 until November 17, 2017 when he took up his current role.

References

  1. 1 2 "Election Profile for Aruba". IFES Election Guide. Archived from the original on 25 August 2009. Retrieved 2009-08-27.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Arubans vote for 21-seat Parliament". Taiwan News. Retrieved 2009-09-26.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Klein, Rosalie (2009-09-26). "AVP Triumphant - Aruba has a new government". Aruba Press . Archived from the original on 2009-10-07. Retrieved 2009-10-06.
  4. ↑ "Start of elections on Aruba not flawless". Amigoe . 2009-09-25. Retrieved 2009-10-06.[ dead link ]
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Aruba's opposition party wins parliament elections". Taiwan News. Retrieved 2009-09-26.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Historical victory for AVP". Amigoe . 2009-09-26. Retrieved 2009-10-06.[ dead link ]
  7. ↑ "Defeated Aruban PM blames Dutch interference". Expatica. Retrieved 2009-09-27.
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