Philipsburg:--- The Prime Minister of St. Maarten Sarah Wescot Williams announced on Wednesday during the Council of Ministers' weekly press briefing that she has been monitoring the Parliament of Curacao where one of the factions has submitted a proposal to have the Electoral Law and the Constitution amended. The Curacao Parliament wants to put in place that the seats that are held by parliamentarians belong to the political party on which they were elected. Wescot Williams said should this happen St. Maarten would have to take action, by this she said St. Maarten should also change its electoral laws to guarantee a more stable operation of government. She said she does not think St. Maarten has to follow the exact exercise Curacao followed because a part of the proposal was criticized by the Council of Advice. "The part that was criticized was the part that stated that politicians running on political slates would have to sign a declaration stating that the seat they are sitting on while in parliament belongs to the political party they ran on. The Council of Advice in their opinion said doing so would be unconstitutional." Jurisprudence in the Kingdom does not allow the seats of Parliament to be tied to a political party. However, the Netherlands is based on the Constitution they have in place for centuries. Wescot Williams said in the case of St. Maarten it's a young country that is going through a learning process. The Prime Minister said she believes that these changes in the electoral law are necessary and she will give the issue all her attention to find ways and means within the legislation, including in the constitution to create a basis that would give any government stability. Even if the government is formed by coalition this government would have to provide a governing program which would be judged by the people. Wescot Williams said she is sure that she will receive the necessary support for her endeavors to make certain changes to the electoral law. Wescot Williams said St. Maarten as a young country needs stability and transparency and has to be accountable to the people that elected a government into office.
