PHILIPSBURG:--- Parliament of Sint Maarten recorded a substantial decline in meeting activity during the 2025–2026 Parliamentary Year, with decreases reported across every major meeting category.
According to the official Parliament of Sint Maarten Annual Report 2025–2026, Parliament recorded 93 meetings across five categories, compared with 124 during the previous parliamentary year.
That represents 31 fewer meetings—a decline of exactly 25%.
The figures cover Public Meetings, Central Committee meetings, permanent and ad hoc committee meetings, Presidium meetings and Faction Leaders meetings. The annual report notes that the 2025–2026 figures have an August 5, 2026 cutoff date.
Committee Meetings Suffer Largest Decline
The most significant reduction occurred at the permanent and ad hoc committee level.
Parliament recorded 65 committee meetings during the 2024–2025 Parliamentary Year. That number fell to 42 in 2025–2026—a reduction of 23 meetings, or approximately 35.4%.
Committee meetings are particularly important because much of Parliament’s detailed oversight and investigative work occurs at that level. Ministers, government-owned companies, unions, experts, organizations and other stakeholders can be invited to provide information and answer questions before Members of Parliament.
The decline from 65 to 42 committee meetings therefore deserves closer examination and a clear explanation from Parliament.
Declines Recorded Across Every Category
The annual report’s comparative figures show:
|
Meeting category |
2024–2025 |
2025–2026 |
Decline |
|
Public Meetings |
23 |
21 |
2 |
|
Central Committee meetings |
25 |
23 |
2 |
|
Committee meetings |
65 |
42 |
23 |
|
Presidium meetings |
8 |
5 |
3 |
|
Faction Leaders meetings |
3 |
2 |
1 |
|
Total |
124 |
93 |
31 |
Public Meetings declined by approximately 8.7%, while Central Committee meetings fell by 8%.
Presidium meetings decreased by 37.5%, and Faction Leaders meetings declined by approximately 33.3%.
Overall, Parliament recorded a decrease in every category included in the annual report’s year-to-year comparison.
Numbers Demand an Explanation
The figures alone do not establish that Parliament was less effective. The number of meetings does not necessarily measure the length, complexity, substance or quality of parliamentary deliberations.
The report also counts meetings by their official meeting numbers. A single numbered meeting can be adjourned and continued across several separate sittings, meaning the totals do not necessarily represent every day or occasion on which Parliament convened.
Nevertheless, meeting frequency remains one of the few objective measurements available to the public when assessing Parliament’s institutional activity.
Members of Parliament are full-time elected representatives entrusted with passing legislation, scrutinizing government policy, questioning ministers, reviewing public expenditure and approving the national budget. A 25% decline in overall meeting activity cannot simply be ignored.
Parliament should explain why it recorded 31 fewer meetings than in the previous parliamentary year, including why committee activity fell so sharply.
The public deserves to know whether the decline resulted from fewer matters being referred to committees, scheduling difficulties, ministerial availability, parliamentary priorities, administrative constraints or other factors.
Whatever the explanation, the official record is clear: based on Parliament’s own comparative figures, meeting activity declined across every major category during the reporting period.
