Democratic Party Sint Maarten

Democratic Party Sint Maarten Democratische Partij Sint Maarten
Leader	Sarah Wescott-Williams
President	Hasani Ellis [1]
Founder	Claude Wathey Clem Labega [2]
Founded	1954 (1954) (original) [3] 22 January 2023 (refounded) [4]
Dissolved	November 2017 (refounded in January 2023)
Split from	Curaçao Democratic Party (original) United Democrats (2023)
Merged into	United Democrats (2017)
Youth wing	Professional Young Persons
Ideology	Social liberalism Progressivism [5]
Political position	Centre to centre-left
Colours	Red
Parliament of Sint Maarten	3 / 15
Website
www.dpsxm.com
Politics of Sint Maarten Political parties Elections

The Democratic Party Sint Maarten (Dutch : Democratische Partij Sint Maarten) is a political party in Sint Maarten. The party was long associated with its powerful leader, business tycoon Claude Wathey. Wathey stepped down from his leadership post in 1992. The party was dissolved in 2017 and refounded in 2023.

Dissolution and refoundation

In the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, which hit the island hard on 6 September 2017 and paralyzed the economy, the Democratic Party and the United People's Party decided to merge to form the United Democrats. ^[6]

Five years later, on 10 January 2023, a party congress was announced to take place on 22 January. Party leader Sarah Wescott-Williams cited Sint Maarten's "personal (individual) political system" as a cause for political instability and described the upcoming congress as "more than the usual annual council meeting of the party" and a "regeneration meeting". ^[4]

Election results

Netherlands Antilles Island Council elections

Election	Leader	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
1955	Claude Wathey	365	66.97%	4 / 5	New
1959		392	63.84%	4 / 5	0
1963		613	71.73%	4 / 5	0
1967		Unopposed		5 / 5	1
1971		1,234	59.44%	4 / 5	1
1975		2,081		5 / 5	1
1979		2,126	50.50%	3 / 5	2
1983		3,342	66.85%	5 / 7	2
1987		5,036	74.19%	7 / 9	2
1991		2,837	32.88%	3 / 9	4
1995	Sarah Wescott-Williams	4,323	45.81%	5 / 11	2
1999		5,601	54.42%	7 / 11	2
2003		4,919	48.38%	6 / 11	1
2007		6,635	49.48%	6 / 11	0

Sint Maarten general elections

Election	Leader	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	Status
2010	Sarah Wescott-Williams	2,340	17.11%	2 / 15	4	Coalition
2014		2,398	16.54%	2 / 15	0	Opposition (2014-2015)
						Coalition (2015-2016)
2016		1,813	12.76%	2 / 15	0	Coalition (2016-2017)
						Opposition (2017-2018)
2018	Merged into United Democrats
2020
Jan 2024	Sarah Wescot-Williams	1,970	13.64%	2 / 15	2	Coalition
Aug 2024		2,069	15.12%	3 / 15	1	TBA

See also

• Democratic Party (Sint Eustatius)

References

1. "Hasani Ellis elected DP Board President". The Daily Herald. Archived from the original on 5 December 2014. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
2. "Wreath-laying ceremony Saturday in memory of Dr. Claude Wathey". The Daily Herald. Archived from the original on 30 November 2014. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
3. "At 60 and counting, DP reflects on past contributors to the building of the St. Maarten nation". sxmislandtime.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
4. "Democratic Party is back, announces party congress". thedailyherald.sx. 22 January 2023.
5. "Jorien Wuite: with a bold move on her way to the Dutch Parliament". StMaartenNews.com. 2020-11-16. Retrieved 2024-08-21.
6. "UP and DP merge as 'United Democrats'". sxm-talks.com. Retrieved 22 January 2023.