This article needs to be updated.(January 2024) |
This article lists political parties in Sint Maarten.
Sint Maarten has a multi-party system with numerous political parties, in which usually a single party does not have a chance of gaining power alone, and thus parties must work with each other to form coalition governments. Political parties tend to be loose political groupings, rather than supporting a consistent ideology, and as such, in the 2010s there were several instances of members of parties leaving to become unaffiliated, leading to the collapse of several coalition governments and snap elections.
Party | Abbr. | Leader | Political position | Ideology | MPs | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
National Alliance Nationale Alliantie | NA | Silveria Jacobs | Centre-left | Social democracy | 4 / 15 | ||
United People's Party Verenigde Volkspartij | UP | Theodore Heyliger | Centre-right | 3 / 15 | |||
Unified Resilient St. Maarten Movement | URSM | Luc Mercelina | Centre-left | Autonomism Third way | 2 / 15 | ||
Democratic Party Democratische Partij | DM | Sarah Wescott-Williams | Centre-left | Christian left Social democracy | 2 / 15 | ||
Party for Progress Vooruitgangspartij | PFP | Melissa Gumbs | Centre-left | 2 / 15 | |||
Nation Opportunity Wealth | NOW | Christophe Emmanuel | Centre | 2 / 15 |
Elections in the Netherlands Antilles were held for two territorial levels of government: the state, and the island territories.
The National Alliance is a political party in Sint Maarten, formed by the Sint Maarten Patriotic Alliance (SPA) and the National Progressive Party (NPP). It is one of main political parties within Sint Maarten. At the legislative elections in the Netherlands Antilles, 18 January 2002, the alliance won 4.8% of the popular vote of Sint Maarten and 1 out of 22 seats. At the elections in the Netherlands Antilles of 27 January 2006, it won one extra seat.
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.
Early general elections were held in Sint Maarten on 17 September 2010 to elect the 15 members of the Island Council. The National Alliance led by William Marlin emerged as the largest party, winning 7 of the 15 seats. However, a coalition government was formed by the Democratic Party and the United People's Party. Despite only having won two seats, the Democratic Party's Sarah Wescot-Williams became Prime Minister.
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.
The second Wescot-Williams cabinet was the second 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 and the Democratic Party, the latter party delivering the Prime Minister despite being the junior partner in the coalition.
Political parties known as Patriotic Alliance include:
General elections were held in Sint Maarten on 29 August 2014. They were the first elections since Sint Maarten became a constituent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 2010, at which point the Island Council became the Estates. The result was a victory for the United People's Party, which won seven of the 15 seats in the Estates.
The United St. Maarten Party is a political party in Sint Maarten founded in 2013 by the former National Alliance deputy leader Frans Richardson. The party currently holds one seat in the parliament of Sint Maarten. In the 2014 general elections, the party obtained two seats, but its then MP-elect Leona Marlin-Romeo left the US Party and became an independent member of parliament.
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.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Sint Maarten may face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity are legal in Sint Maarten, a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, but same-sex marriage is not legal. Same-sex couples with Dutch nationality must travel to the Netherlands to get married, and that will not provide the rights of marriage in Sint Maarten.
William Marlin is a Sint Maarten politician who served as the 3rd Prime Minister of Sint Maarten from 2015 to 2017. Marlin was the leader of the National Alliance, and was the leader of the First and Second Marlin cabinet.
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.
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.
Island council elections were held in the Netherlands Antilles on 12 April 1991 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 National People's Party in Curaçao, the Windward Islands People's Movement in Saba, and the Sint Maarten Patriotic Alliance 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.