Philipsburg:--- The Prime Minister of St. Maarten Sarah Wescot Williams refused to comply with request submitted by Deputy Prime Minister William Marlin which is to place an additional agenda point on the meeting scheduled for Tuesday May 28th which would have allowed the majority in the Council of Ministers to dissolve the Parliament of St. Maarten. In a letter Prime Minister Wescot Williams addressed to the Deputy Prime Minister William Marlin she stated that she already gave her reasons why she will not comply with their request. Wescot Williams said her position has been strengthened because the entire Wescot Williams II cabinet has submitted their resignation.
The political crisis took a new twist late last week when Deputy Prime Minister William Marlin and the other Ministers found out that the Governor of St. Maarten sent a letter to the Prime Minister on May 16th, 2013 informing her that the Council of Ministers has a right to exercise article 59 of the constitution and that she should give the majority in the Council of Ministers space to exercise their right based on the country's constitution. SMN News published the letter Governor Eugene Holiday sent to the Prime Minister on Sunday in its entirety.
On Monday Marlin told reporters at a national press conference that even though the Prime Minister received the letter dated May 16th, 2013, up to May 24th, 2013 the Council of Ministers and the secretariat had no knowledge of the Governor's letter because the Prime Minister hid the letter from the Council of Ministers. Marlin made clear that such a document was supposed to be booked in at the secretariat as an incoming document but the Prime Minister did not book the letter in. Marlin said that when he consulted with the Secretariat (Cassandra Janssen) to retrieve a copy of the letter he was informed that the secretariat had not seen such a letter. Marlin said the Prime Minister's actions have amounted to fraud and that she discredited her office as Prime Minister solely for political power. Marlin said what the Prime Minister did was not slick or a laughing matter because she violated the trust of her office and moreover committed a shameful and disgraceful act.
It should be noted that while the Governor of St. Maarten issued an advice and admonished the Prime Minister in his letter of May 16th, 2013, he should have sent the letter to the Deputy Prime Minister since he was fully aware that the Prime Minister and the other Ministers were at loggerheads for weeks concerning the dissolution of Parliament. Deputy Prime Minister William Marlin even sent an LB to the Governor on behalf of the majority in the Council of Ministers because the Prime Minister refused to allow them to exercise their constitutional and democratic rights in the Council of Ministers. But the Governor said he could not honor Marlin's request and he sent it back so that it could be handled in the Council of Ministers. Several persons cast some of the blame on the Governor saying that he is charged with ensuring that the process and the will of the people are respected.
Another concern several legal experts have raised is that while the Governor advised the Prime Minister on the country's constitution and made reference to the rights of the Council of Ministers based on article 59 of the constitution, the Governor himself erred in the procedure because the current political process has several steps which must be followed. An Attorney that is certified in constitutional law broke down the steps that have to be followed for SMN News.
- The Parliament of St. Maarten expressed that the Wescot Williams II Cabinet no longer enjoys their support.
- The right for the Council of Ministers to vote based on article 59, which to date has not taken place because the Prime Minister refused to respect the wishes of the majority and heed the advice given to her by the Governor of St. Maarten.
- Formation of a new cabinet.
The attorney said that while step one has taken place, the Governor skipped step two even though he advised the Prime Minister correctly and he then jumped to step three which is to appoint Wescot Williams as formateur to form a new cabinet. "This is the one sided and biased to say the least, right now I am wondering what was done for the Governor to take sides in this political crisis. The Governor has to remain impartial but it appears as though he too is taking sides with those that have been disrespecting the country's constitution, its people, and the majority in the Council of Ministers."
"As the governor pointed out in his by now famous letter of May 16th, not allowing the majority in the Council of Ministers to vote on the matter of dissolving Parliament "does not do justice to our constitutional process."
In this crisis the steps to be followed are clearly outlined in our constitution.
- Parliament invokes a vote of no confidence according to article 33 of the constitution.
- Government has the right to respond according to article 59 by dissolving Parliament The governor points this out in his letter, as the "autonomous constitutional right of government".
- The formation of an new cabinet or interim cabinet follows.
"As the government was not given the chance to respond to the vote of no confidence because of obstruction by the Prime Minister, the governor cannot skip this step and go to step #3. By doing so he himself would be violating the constitutional process. He therefore should not appoint a "formateur", but wait until such a time that he has a clear indication from government whether they will dissolve Parliament or not. The fact that the ministers have resigned does not change this fact. The normal procedure is that they resign and dissolve Parliament at the same time. This was what Schotte did in Curacao. The only reason, why the Council of Ministers on St. Maarten did not get to pass the resolution to dissolve Parliament as we all know by now, is because the Prime Minister keeps blocking the vote.
The governor should by all means stay out of this fray. It is not his position to become involved. The Governor should now stand his ground and refuse to go on to step three until step two has been followed. He has sworn to keep and maintain the constitution. Skipping step two can be seen as acting contrary to the constitution. The question then arises, how long should he wait? As long as it takes to allow government to exercise its autonomous constitutional right. In the meantime, he would be well advised to stop the formation process until such a time as the Council of Ministers is allowed to vote according to article 59 of the constitution.
Failure to follow these steps might result in the formation of a government that rests on a flawed constitutional process. Such a government would lack legitimacy and the authority needed to carry out its tasks."
The attorney said based on these developments the Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the National Alliance who has the majority in the Council of Ministers can now protest against the actions of the Governor by sending the Governor a written letter to stop the formation process until step two is completed. "Marlin can use the letter the Governor wrote to the Prime Minister which confirmed what he "Marlin" was saying from day one and stop the procedure to form a new government. Another option the Governor could take is to call for early elections based on the current impasse and have a professional cabinet installed until elections are called."
SMN News learnt from well placed sources that this is an option the majority of Ministers are looking at while they will also inform their Kingdom partners not to recognize the government that is now being formed because the constitutional process was not followed.