Curaçao general election, 2010

Last updated March 22, 2019

The Curaçao general election of 2010 (formally: Curaçao island council election of 2010) was held on 27 August 2010. Early elections for the Curaçao island council were necessary because the island council failed to approve the Constitution of Curaçao with a two-thirds majority in the first reading. Before it could be adopted by a simple majority in the second reading, the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands specified that a general election had to intervene.

An island council was the governing body of an island territory, an administrative level of the Netherlands Antilles until its dissolution.

The Constitution of Curaçao was adopted by a 15 to 6 vote majority in the island council of Curaçao on 5 September 2010. In the initial vote on the constitution in July, the two-thirds majority required was not reached, after which new elections were held on 27 August. The newly elected island council could then adopt the constitution with an ordinary majority.

The Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands describes the political relationship between the four countries that constitute the Kingdom of the Netherlands: Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten in the Caribbean and the Netherlands in Europe. It is the leading legal document of the Kingdom. The Constitution of the Netherlands and the Basic Laws of the three other countries are legally subordinate to the Charter.

Although the election was held for the island council of Curaçao, its newly elected members automatically became members of the Estates of Curaçao when Curaçao received country status within the Kingdom of the Netherlands on 10 October 2010.

The Parliament of Curaçao consist of 21 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 island council elected on 27 August 2010.

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 the Netherlands, is a sovereign state and constitutional monarchy with the large majority of its territory in Western Europe and with several small island territories in the Caribbean Sea, in the West Indies islands.

Results

Although the Party for the Restructured Antilles increased its number of seats from 7 to 8, the coalition it led lost its majority. Gerrit Schotte of the Movementu Futuro Korsou (MFK) formed a coalition with Movishon Antia Nobo (MAN) and Pueblo Soberano (PS) and thus became Curaçao's first Prime Minister on 10 October 2010.

The Party for the Restructured Antilles is a political party in Curaçao. Since 2016 it has participated in elections as the Partido Alternativa Real. With six seats the party is the largest party in the Estates of Curaçao, following the 2017 elections. With eight seats, PAR was the largest party in the first Estates of Curaçao, established in 2010 upon the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles.

Gerrit Fransisco Schotte is a politician from Curaçao, and the current leader of the Movementu Futuro Kòrsou (MFK). In the Curaçao general election of 27 August 2010, the MFK became the second-largest party with 5 seats in the Island Council. MFK formed an island government together with Pueblo Soberano and Partido MAN on 4 September. This coalition became the first Cabinet of Curaçao when the Netherlands Antilles was dismantled on 10 October 2010. Schotte at that point became the first Prime Minister of Curaçao.

e • d **Curaçao general election results, 2010**
Parties	Party leader	Votes	%	Seats	+/-
Partido Antiá Restrukturá (PAR)	Emily de Jongh-Elhage	22,474	30	8	+1
Movementu Futuro Korsou (MFK)	Gerrit Schotte	15,953	21	5	+5
Pueblo Soberano (PS)	Helmin Wiels	13,886	19	4	+3
Movishon Antia Nobo (MAN)	Eunice Eisden	6,531	9	2	-3
Partido Frente Obrero Liberashon 30 Di Mei (FOL)	Anthony Godett	4,813	7	1	-1
Partido Nashonal di Pueblo (PNP)	Humphrey Davelaar	4,588	6	1	-1
Democratische Partij (DP)	Norberto Vieira Ribeiro	3,048	4	0	–
Partido pa Adelanto I Inovashon Soshal (PAIS)	Alex Rosaria	2,202	3	0	–
Partido Laboral	Errol Goeloe	509	1	0	–
Lista Niun Paso Atras (NPA)	Carlos Monk	336	0	0	–
Total valid votes		74,340	100	21
Invalid votes (including 241 blank votes)		1,231	1.6
Turnout		75,571	65.81
Source: Civil registry of the Netherlands Antilles

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References

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