PHILIPSBURG:--- Six of the eight political parties that registered to postulate the 2014 Parliamentary Elections submitted their lists to the Central Voting Bureau on July 11th 2014 (Postulation Day).
The first political party that submitted their list was the United Peoples Party headed by Theodore Heyliger. Joseph Richardson presented the list on behalf of UP Party in the presence of its leader and other board members. Richardson submitted the list to the chairman of the Central Voting Bureau Jason Rogers at 9:05am. Prior handing over the list to the chairman of the council, Richardson said that the UPP was the first party to register with the Electoral Council and they felt that they should be the first to submit their list to the Central Bureau since the 2014 election is the first Parliamentary Election for St. Maarten.
Leader of the UP Party Theodore Heyliger told members of the media shortly after their list was submitted that in 2010 the UPP was the new kid on the block to contest an election. He said back then there were a lot of work that needed to be done as a new party. "This time around we are no longer a rookie party and I believe the speculations of the voters would be put to rest." When questioned on his statements about his party being a 'rookie' party since he has been in politics for 19 years. Heyliger said that while he has been a veteran politician, the UPP was a new party and its now only four years old. He said this time around the UPP is looking for an outright win on August 29th, 2014.
The second party to submit their list to the Central Voting Bureau was the leader of the Social Reform Party headed by Jacinto Mock. Mock will be contesting this parliamentary election alone on his slate. Mock told reporters when he was interviewed that several persons wanted to be on his slate but later backed off. "It is difficult to recruit candidates, several persons decided to pull back for family reasons or to further their career. I have some 413 persons that signed their names in support of the Social Reform Party. Our system allows a one man list and there is a lot someone can do in parliament. Right now I am focusing on matters relating to immigration and education." Mock ran on the National Alliance slate in 2010 and when asked why he considers himself a new comer, he said he is still very young and that the reason he left the National Alliance was due to the lack of communication within the party.
The third party to submit their list to the Central Voting Bureau was the One St. Maarten People Party headed by Lenny Priest. Priest said his list is well balanced and it's the only party that has the people's interest at heart. Hannah Emmanuel, an elderly citizen told members of the Central Voting Bureau that he is very disappointed with how the people's affairs are being conducted on St. Maarten. He said if he is elected he would do what is necessary to make St. Maarten a better place to live.
In an interview with reporters leader of the One St. Maarten People Party Lenny Priest said that he submitted a list with nine candidates. Priest said all of the candidates are new comers in the political arena. He further explained that it is very difficult for the persons sitting in parliament right now to do anything different from what they did the past four years. "The political parties that are in parliament right now had four years to work for the people of St. Maarten but instead of working they made a total mess. If you ask the average citizen on the island if they are better off today than they were four years ago you will hear that things are worse because cost of living has increased, crime has become a major concern, housing is lacking and health concerns must be addressed.
Later in the afternoon in front of the Government Administration Building looked more like carnival. The United St. Maarten Peoples Party (US Party) headed by Frans Richardson submitted their list close to 3pm. Richardson arrived at the Government Administration Building with several of his supporters decked out in blue. The USP showed up with a motorcade with motorcycles revving their bikes to make it known that they were at Central Voting Bureau submitting their list. A party bus with a heavy sound system was also among the USP parade. Leader of the USP told reporters that his party submitted a list with 15 candidates because there are only 15 seats in parliament. "Having 23 members on a list does not make much sense because all of them cannot get a seat in parliament if they get an outright win. Richardson said he is proud of the support he got on Friday he further stated that the people of St. Maarten are suffering and he will do what is necessary to address the issues affecting the youths on St. Maarten. "No longer is the time for lip service, it's time that the people's interest are dealt with." Reuben Thompson founder of the CPC who stated that his party will not be contesting the 2014 parliamentary election is running on the USP slate, something he did not mention in the press release he issued Thursday evening.
By the time the USP were finished, the members of the Democratic Party lined up in front of the Government Administration Building. At one point they began honking their horns to get the USP vehicles and supporters out of the way so that they could submit their list on time. Leader of the Democratic Party Sarah Wescot Williams surrounded by board members of the Democratic Party submitted the DP list shortly after 3pm. Wescot Williams told reporters that the Democratic Party submitted a list with 19 candidates that are representing every layer of the St. Maarten community. Wescot Williams said she is extremely proud of what the DP has done. She said that one of the things the DP will focus on this election is trust. "We need to focus on who can be trusted and one thing I know for sure I am someone that can be trusted."
When the Democratic Party finished they left the A.C. Wathey Legislative Hall and gathered on the balcony of the building for photo shots while the National Alliance and their supporters were standing outside waiting to get inside to submit their list to the Central Voting Bureau. More exciting and even tantalizing was when the Democratic Party members were leaving the building they began waving their red flags and shouting DP as members and supporters of the National Alliance tried to make their way into the building.
The National Alliance was the last political party to submit their list shortly after 3:30pm. Deputy leader of the National Alliance Silveria Jacobs submitted the list on behalf of her party. Prior to submitting the National Alliance list, Jacobs said the NA list is the winning list that has 23 candidates, the youngest person on the list is 30 years old. Among those on the National Alliance slate is Jeffry Richardson leader of the Concordia Political Alliance. Many civil servants were surprised to see DCOMM employee Cedric Peterson as one of the candidates on the National Alliance slate. Both the leader and deputy leader of the National Alliance told reporters that they are confident that the voters of St. Maarten will put their confidence in the National Alliance on August 29th. Marlin said that the voters have seen what transpired during the last four years and they are not at all satisfied. He said the National Alliance represented St. Maarten at every level. "The people wants the National Alliance to get an outright victory, they are not happy with what transpired in 2010 and to ensure that this country gets a stable, competent government with integrity they will give the National Alliance an outright win to avoid instability in government." Marlin said that there are several issues affecting the people of St. Maarten such as unemployment among the youths, education and lack of social housing." Marlin also mentioned some of the things the National Alliance accomplished while they were in government. He said all the schools built on St. Maarten were built because the National Alliance initiated the process. Marlin said that for the school in Hope Estate the National Alliance bought the land for one million guilders but today the Minister of Housing and Spatial Planning bought less land for over ten million guilders. Crime he said is rampant on St. Maarten while the economy has remained stagnant. Electricity bills on St. Maarten are rising every month and there are so many gimmicks being played to fool the senior citizens on the island. Marlin said just prior to 2010 the National Alliance entered into government and they managed to attain country status for St. Maarten, within one year, something the Democratic Party said was not attainable. He said at the time Theodore Heyliger who was part of the coalition back then quit working to form his own party.
Marlin said that the National Alliance will be addressing these issues in the coming weeks as they campaign. He said they already heard that some candidates joined certain political parties because they felt that the money is with certain political parties and they need to get their share of the pie. He assured that the National Alliance will be returning governing to the people and not have people who will sell their seat in parliament to the highest bidder.
When the National Alliance and its members exited the Government Administration Building they were confronted with a barrage of people supporting the United Peoples Party who were simply parading in front of the government building even though they were the first to submit their list Friday morning.
Click here to view more photos of Postulation Day 2014.
Click here to view the lists of candidates submitted by various political parties.
Editor's note: The link above does not show all lists submitted because not all parties emailed their list to the media.
