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All 15 seats in Parliament 8 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
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Snap general elections were held in Sint Maarten on 19 August 2024, [1] following the early dissolution of the parliament elected in January. [2]
Following the January 2024 general elections a four-party government was formed by the Unified Resilient St. Maarten Movement (URSM), the Democratic Party, the Party for Progress and Nation Opportunity Wealth (NOW), all of which had won two seats. [3] As the URSM received the most votes of the four, its leader Luc Mercelina became prime minister. [4] Elected members took office on 10 February 2024, [5] and Mercelina took the oath of office on 3 May. [6] However, the government collapsed 18 days later when NOW MP Kevin Maingrette resigned from his party and left the coalition to join the opposition. This crossing the floor cost the coalition its majority, leading Mercelina to dissolve parliament and call snap elections. [7] However, on 27 May, Maingrette withdrew his support for the opposition and expressed support for the Mercelina administration again despite still sitting as an independent. [8] However, the elections remained scheduled. [9] On 2 July, Maingrette announced he would not seek re-election, [10] and on 12 July was arrested and his house scheduled to be searched following possible involvement in bribery prior to his time as an MP. [11] [12] [13]
Per the Constitution of Sint Maarten, the number of members in the Estates is determined by the following scale, dependent on the population: [14]
As the population was estimated to be 41,349 as of 1 January 2024, [15] the number of mandates to be contested in this election is 15. The members are elected by open list proportional representation (first using the Hare quota then D'Hondt method for any seats still unallocated) for a four-year term. [16] [14] The voting age is 18, and candidates standing must be a resident of the island, a Dutch national, 18 years of age or older, and must not have been disqualified from voting. Elected members may not stay outside the country for more than eight months, or their mandate lapses, and must not be the spouse or a second-degree relative of another member. In order to participate in the election, new parties and parties without a seat in parliament are required to obtain at least 144 signatures; 1% of the valid votes of the prior elections (in this case the January 2024 general elections). [16] [17]
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| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |
| National Alliance | 2,262 | 16.52 | 3 | –1 | |
| Unified Resilient St. Maarten Movement | 2,224 | 16.24 | 3 | +1 | |
| Democratic Party | 2,071 | 15.12 | 3 | +1 | |
| United People's Party | 2,043 | 14.92 | 2 | –1 | |
| Party for Progress | 1,946 | 14.21 | 2 | 0 | |
| Soualiga Action Movement | 1,250 | 9.13 | 1 | New | |
| Nation Opportunity Wealth | 1,243 | 9.08 | 1 | –1 | |
| Oualichi Movement for Change | 521 | 3.80 | 0 | New | |
| Empire Culture Empowerment Association | 136 | 0.99 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 13,696 | 100.00 | 15 | 0 | |
| Valid votes | 13,696 | 98.63 | |||
| Invalid/blank votes | 190 | 1.37 | |||
| Total votes | 13,886 | 100.00 | |||
| Registered voters/turnout | 22,750 | 61.04 | |||
| Source: Government of Sint Maarten [18] | |||||
Theoretically, the original coalition formed following the election in January between the URSM, DP, PFP, and NOW would still have enough seats for a majority (obtaining 9 in total, an increase of 1 over the previous election) if they wished to continue under the prior agreement. However, on 22 August, it was announced that the URSM, DP, PFP, and SAM had agreed to form a governing coalition, [19] with Mercelina likely returning as prime minister.
On 6 September, Governor Ajamu Baly appointed Mercelina as formateur. [20] On 6 November, Mercelina announced a 7 member cabinet, with 2 ministerial positions each for URSM, DP, and PFP and 1 position for SAM. The second Mercelina cabinet included four returning ministers from the previous cabinet and three newcomers. The new cabinet is scheduled to be sworn in on 26 November. [21]
The Parliament of 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. The current President of Parliament is Sarah A. Wescot-Williams.
The prime minister of Sint Maarten became the head of government of Sint Maarten after the Netherlands Antilles had been dissolved on 10 October 2010. The prime minister, together with the Council of Ministers and the governor of Sint Maarten, form the executive branch of the government of Sint Maarten. Sint Maarten's current prime minister is Luc Mercelina.
Sint Maarten, a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, has a government formed by the monarch, represented by the governor, and the ministers. The Prime Minister of Sint Maarten presides over the council of ministers. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. The minister plenipotentiary is not part of the government and represents the Sint Maarten government in the Netherlands. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The country is a parliamentary representative democratic country with a multi-party system. Sint Maarten has full autonomy on most matters, with the exceptions summed up in the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands under the title "Kingdom affairs". The Constitution of Sint Maarten was ratified in September 2010, and entered into force on 10 October 2010.
Sarah A. Wescot-Williams is the leader of the Democratic Party of Sint Maarten and the first Prime Minister of Sint Maarten. Wescot-Williams is the current President of Parliament, a role she has occupied on five separate occasions. Even though her party only managed to secure two seats in the Sint Maarten general election of 2010, she was selected as Prime Minister in the coalition agreement between United People and the Democratic Party.
The First Wescot-Williams cabinet was the first Cabinet of Sint Maarten installed following the achievement of constituent country status of Sint Maarten within the Kingdom of the Netherlands on 10 October 2010. Government formation followed the September 2010 Sint Maarten general election, which saw the National Alliance emerge as the largest party. Nevertheless, the coalition was formed by the Democratic Party and the United Peoples party. Despite only winning two seats, the office of Prime Minister was delivered by DP's head Sarah Wescot-Williams.
Marcel Faustiano Augustin Gumbs is a Sint Maarten politician who served as the 2nd Prime Minister of Sint Maarten from 2014 to 2015. He was selected as Prime Minister in the coalition agreement between the United People's Party and the independent Members Parliament Cornelius de Weever and Leona Marlin-Romeo. Prior to becoming Prime Minister, he served as a member on the Sint Maarten Council of Advise.
The Gumbs cabinet was a coalition cabinet in Sint Maarten formed by the United People's Party and independent members of Parliament Cornelius de Weever and Leona Marlin-Romeo.
The president of the Parliament of Sint Maarten is the presiding officer of the Parliament of Sint Maarten. According to Article 8 of the Rules of Order of Parliament the president presides over the sittings of the House and enforces the rules prescribed in the Rules of Order of Parliament for the orderly conduct of parliamentary business. The president is supported by a team of vice presidents, divided into a first vice president and second vice president, who are also members of the House. In the event that the president is unable to lead a meeting the meeting is chaired by the first vice president.
The First Marlin cabinet was the fifth Cabinet of Sint Maarten installed following the achievement of constituent country status of Sint Maarten within the Kingdom of the Netherlands on 10 October 2010. The cabinet was a coalition between the National Alliance, Democratic Party, United St. Maarten Party and independent members of Parliament Maurice Lake and Silvio Matser.
The Second Marlin cabinet was the sixth Cabinet of Sint Maarten installed following the achievement of constituent country status of Sint Maarten within the Kingdom of the Netherlands on 10 October 2010. The cabinet was a coalition between the National Alliance, the United St. Maarten Party and the Democratic Party.
Franklin Antonio Meyers is a Sint Maarten businessman, undertaker, and politician who serves as a Member of Parliament since 2024. He previously served as an MP from 2014 to 2019 and was Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications in the First Wescot-Williams cabinet from 2010 to 2012.
Snap general elections were held in Sint Maarten on 26 February 2018 following a no confidence vote in the Second Marlin cabinet.
Jorien Wuite is a Sint Maarten-Dutch civil servant, diplomat, and politician. Born in The Hague, she moved to Sint Maarten aged 32 to work in government. She rose to the position of Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports and served as Minister Plenipotentiary of Sint Maarten in the period 2018–19. She moved back to the European part of the Netherlands due to her election to the House of Representatives in 2021 as a member of the social liberal party Democrats 66 (D66).
The second Marlin-Romeo cabinet was the 8th cabinet of Sint Maarten. It was formed by a coalition of the political parties United Democrats (UD) and the St. Maarten Christian Party (SMCP).
Silveria Elfrieda Jacobs is a Sint Maarten politician and the former Prime Minister of Sint Maarten from 2019 to 2024.
The Jacobs cabinet was the 9th cabinet of Sint Maarten. It was part of the executive branch of the Sint Maarten Government and was formed by members of the National Alliance and the United St. Maarten Party. It was followed by the second Jacobs cabinet installed after the 2020 snap general election.
General elections were held in Sint Maarten on 11 January 2024.
The Unified Resilient St. Maarten Movement is a political party in Sint Maarten. It was founded in October 2021 by Luc Mercelina, who was at the time a member of Parliament for the United People's Party. The party contested the January 2024 general election winning two seats, and later entered a coalition agreement with the Democratic Party, Party for Progress and Nation Opportunity Wealth that designated URSM party leader Luc Mercelina as new Prime Minister.
Luc F. E. Mercelina is a surgeon and politician from Sint Maarten and the current Prime Minister as of 3 May 2024. He is the founder and leader of the Unified Resilient St. Maarten Movement (URSM). He was also a member of the United Democrats (UD) and the United People's Party (UP).
The Mercelina cabinet is the 11th Council of Ministers of Sint Maarten headed by Prime Minister Luc Mercelina. It was installed by Governor Ajamu Baly on 3 May 2024.
