TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin NAf. 661,482 funds approved Jan. 8, 2018 election

NAf. 661,482 funds approved for January 8, 2018 elections. "Democracy of a Nation comes with a price." PM William Marlin
https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/70798-naf-661-482-approved-for-january-8-elections

I for one am totally outraged that the govt. is willing to spend that kind of money on elections. Just think of how better that money could be used for the country and the people. I own a condo and am there approx. 6 months each year. Not a resident--no voting rights, but if I did have those rights, I would be so mad at how all of this is being handled. Possibly, I am missing something?

Total waste of much needed funds from the people.

OK I have been offline all day, but I thought the elections were off?? And they are going to spend like $400,000 on it??? Wow.

im sorry....400K for an election sounds like a bargain. How much do you think it costs for a special election in the states?? This is a COUNTRY wide vote to set up a new government on the island. Yes...the Country is in deep need of money for repairs....but obviously with the current government in place, refusing to follow terms from the Netherlands to get money for repairs...etc. This price seems like a bargain for the Country.

Sure the cost for Sint Maarten elections is low but the population is small too. BUT any money like this could be used to repair the island, so necessary to lure the cruise ships back into port in order to support the country.

Regardless, they should NOT be having an election in January.. That's ridiculous.

Considering only about 5000 people vote in the elections it seems like a lot.

Have to print all those phony voter cards that Marlin's people will stuff the ballot boxes with. Conditions on SXM are perfect for massive fraud.

I would also think the amount of plywood and lumber could be put to much better use. If anything like past elections, the billboards are over the top.

Don't forget the Red and Blue t shirts. And the washing machines.
Duh.
Ridiculous they are doing this.
irina

Hey folks.....SXM is their island and country. If they choose to spend 400k...or a million bucks....it's up to THEM. We, Americans, do NOT have a say for how they conduct their business!! Almost like the Russians, telling us, how to conduct ours.
I am sure that every businessman and resident on the island knows how much the election will cost....but in the long run this election is important also, for the rebuilding of the island, which all of us will appreciate.
I am sure the residents of SXM can point their fingers to the USA in their voting customs. How much money is it costing for the DECEMBER special election in Alabama???? It is NOT our Country...Let's stay out of the politics of it. my two cent rant.

This may or may not be true but if it is, what can a resident or businessman do about the actual cost?

I am going to disagree with what a lot of local residents know. Many times I will see something on TTOL or elsewhere, call my island friend about it and he has heard nothing about it. Many of them rely on US TV for information and this will not be covered. I was talking with a local friend/island resident and he had no idea about the recent Las Vegas shooting. Since the hurricane he does not have TV and has basically been out of touch. I am going to venture to guess, many island residents learn more about what is going on in their country from various forms of social media than they garner through local sources. Not everyone on the island reads the local papers either.

JD.....agree to a point.....but many residents of our country ONLY get news from social media...or worse...Fox News!!!! People do talk to each other though...so I am sure one will have to be livng under a rock to know what their country is doing. Again...it is NOT OUR BUSINESS how they decide to run THEIR elections. We our guests....they are NOT!!!!

I do agree with what you just said.

This could be one of the reasons they have what some have called a dysfunctional electoral system with so few people participating in the voting. As the saying goes, you get the government you deserve.



I am guessing that in a very real sense the horrific shooting 3,400 miles away in Las Vegas is not overly important to people trying to recover their own lives after a cat 5 hurricane. So I can understand many people living there not knowing about it.

It isn't our place to tell them what to do, but I feel we are free to discuss our thoughts on it. Just as I, as a Canadian, often express my views on US politics. (And feel free to comment on Canadian politics <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" /> )

I just finished listening to public parliament meeting and all three motions have been accepted. Correct me if I am wrong but Rafael Boasman has become your Prime Minister.

I don't fully understand SXM politics...but could it have been that the vote today maybe installed Bosman as interim Prime Minister until after the vote in January?? No matter what the case, hoping a strong government, looking out for the PEOPLE of SXM, take over and get the island recovery moving faster than before, and getting the people back in their homes, with a roof over their heads, and food on the tables. Then they will be almost ready for all of us that cant wait to get back to our ''second homes''.

Unless the Kingdom Council overturns the decree for early elections (as was requested today by Parliament), I believe the link below describes the situation in SXM.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demissionary_cabinet

That's a politically biased comment which should not be made on TTOL. I'm sure many don't care for your liberal news sources.

Sorry, I missed that when it was posted. Yes, please leave US news organizations out of the conversation.

Elections postponed to February, but Marlin is still PM??

There has been no release on the Governor's site indicating that he has removed Marlin, and I don't see anything published in the Gazette syaing he is gone, so for the moment, it seems he is still PM.
http://www.kabgsxm.com/news.aspx?language=EN
http://www.sintmaartengov.org/government/AZ/laws/Pages/National-Gazette.aspx

So long as Marlin is still the PM, and especially in light of his statement on St. Martin day about "so many pieces of silver", I can't imagine that the Dutch government will release the aid funds to SXM. It seems obvious that Marlin never has agreed to the Integrity Chamber and won't.

So this one man continues to hold the rest of the people of the Dutch side, in essence, as hostage to his whims or worse, his possible malfeasance? No recall? So very sad for the people... <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/cry.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/cry.gif" alt="" />

Deputy Prime Minister Rafael Boasman assume the PM's post in the interim. This is news that I read and now can not link to. If a newspaper is going to delete an article instead of correcting it's content they should know it can still be found in search engines. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/smashpc.gif" alt="" />

Marlin is still PM, as of now, according to the Daily Herald editorial that I linked to before. Editorial They voted to discharge him, but he is still PM, as of now.

Governor Holiday appoints MP Meyers as Formateur to form the Interim Government. Deadline to form the interim Government is December 4,2017
Governor Holiday and the 'resigned' member of Council of Ministers, sign the decree with revisions to the previous decree of NOVEMBER 3,2017

Who can follow this... <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/smashpc.gif" alt="" />