WILLEMSTAD--The outgoing Antillean Parliament will handle the "Duncan Law" on early elections for the Island Councils of Curaçao and St. Maarten Wednesday, March 24, two days before the newly elected Parliament takes office.
The amendment (also called a transition measure) is to the Islands Regulation ERNA and requires a two-thirds majority in Parliament to be adopted. The Central Committee of parliament began handling the amendment in February.
The amendment has three aims: to increase the number of Island Council members in St. Maarten from 11 to 15 and the Executive Council from five commissioners to seven; and dissolve the Island Councils of Curaçao and St. Maarten to allow early elections.
The changes are deemed important because of the constitutional change process on the islands.
Constitutional and Home Affairs Minister Roland Duncan has provided answers to questions from parliamentarians in writing.
St. Maarten's parliamentarian Erno Labega (DP) had questions about aspects of the law. The party in opposition at home and in Parliament is not in full support of the draft "Duncan's Law" because it has not been fully explained in St. Maarten.
According to Duncan, it is not necessary that the Island Councils of St. Maarten and Curaçao first adopt the constitution for country St. Maarten and Curaçao respectively (with a two-thirds majority) before the change to the ERNA can take effect.
The Island Councils can deal with the adoption of their constitutions as they deem fit, Duncan said. If there is no two-thirds majority for the adoption then the Lt. Governors must be able to dissolve the Island Councils and call early elections. For this specific reason, Parliament must approve the transitional measure.
Duncan didn't want to give a possible date for these early elections. June 11 had been floated as a possible date for Curaçao's elections, but it now seems that the end of June may be more feasible, or even July/August.
With the islands set to become countries within the Dutch Kingdom on 10-10-10, the longer it takes to call early elections, the tighter the preparation time will become.
The minister added that there is no strict rule that the Voters' Register must close 90 days before elections. The period between closing the register and the elections can be different as this can be stipulated by the Island Council. It could be either 60 or 25 days, Duncan said as an example.
