Voters up by 2,000
for upcoming poll
PHILIPSBURG--The number of voters has increased by some 2,000 persons, or 11.6 per cent, over the past four years. This year, 19,151 persons can vote in the April 20 Island Council elections.
The increase in voters was announced by Chairman of the Main Voting Bureau Lt. Governor Franklyn Richards after the voters’ register at the Census Office was closed on January 30.
The number of eligible voters stood at 17,159 during the last Island Council elections in 2003. An increase in the number of voters is usually good news for the politicians, because it means they can get more votes.
However, the number of persons going to the polls has gone down in the last two elections. In 2003, 64.4 per cent of the eligible voters turned out to vote. In the federal elections in January 2006, a mere 60 per cent cast votes. In January 2006, 18,091 persons were eligible to vote.
Richards called on eligible voters to come out on Election Day and make use of their democratic right by casting their votes. “Together we determine the future course of St. Maarten at this most important time in our history when we are actually pursuing a new status of country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands,” stated Richards at a press conference on Saturday.
The new Island Council will have its hands full, tending to matters to prepare for a new status, said Richards.
The Chairman of the Main Voting Bureau also used the occasion to announce the 14 polling stations and the number of eligible voters per district. The largest district is number two, Sundial School in Philipsburg with 1,805 eligible voters, followed by district 1, L.B. Scott Sports Auditorium in Philipsburg with 1,733 voters. District 2 includes persons from Pointe Blanche Prison.
District 3 is Genevieve de Weever School in Hope Estate, 1,654 voters; District 4 Sr. Marie Laurence School in Middle Region, 1,602 voters; District 5 Dutch Quarter Community Centre, 1,270 voters; District 6 Milton Peters College in South Reward, 1,588 voters; District 7 St. Peters Hillside School, 1,434 voters; District 8 St. Maarten Academy in St. Peters, 1,539 voters; District 9 Celebration Palace in Cul-de-Sac, 942 voters; District 10 Raoul Illidge Sports Complex in Cay Hill, 955 voters; District 11 Charles Leopold Bell School in Cole Bay, 1,513 voters; District 12 Leonard Connor School in Cay Bay, 1,296 voters; District 13 Simpson Bay Community Centre, 643 voters; District 14 Belvedere Community Centre, 1,177 voters.
Nomination Day will be on March 1, when political parties contesting the election submit their lists of candidates at the Main Voting Bureau, the Census Office, between 9:00am and 4:00pm. Parties that are currently not represented in the Island Council will have to pay a fee of NAf. 1,000.
Each new list has to be supported by 171 signatures, representing one per cent of the total sum of votes cast in the 2003 Island Council elections, which was 17,159. The lists of existing political parties represented in the Island Council are exempted from this.
The Main Voting Bureau examines the candidates’ lists on March 12. The numbering of the lists is determined by drawing conducted by the Main Voting Bureau in a public session. The colour of the lists is also determined based on the prescribed procedure. The lists will be made public. After Election Day, the Main Voting Bureau will ratify the results in a public session on April 25.
In preparation for the elections, the Main Voting Bureau was recently appointed. Appointed as acting chairperson was Head of the Census Office Leona Marlin-Romeo. Other members are Mervin Scot, Cornelius de Weever and Clarence “Cappie” Richardson. Substitute members are Leroy Brooks, Ligia Stella and Ricardo Tjie-A-Loi.
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