E-Day
Today’s elections in the Windward Islands are arguably among the most important St. Maarten, St. Eustatius and Saba have experienced, because of the constitutional changes that are to be finalised by December 15, 2008. For St. Maarten this also means the Island Council to be elected and the Commissioners it appoints will most probably be in office little more than a year, because a 15-seat Parliament is supposed to replace the 11-seat Island Council and a Council of Ministers the Executive Council when the island obtains country status.
Considering that and the fact that the two largest parties both back the Final Statement and Transition Accord to reach that goal, one might wonder why the campaign has been so fierce. The answer is that the upcoming governing period is a crucial one during which perhaps more than ever decisions with long-term implications have to be taken.
The party or parties that will be called on to govern St. Maarten after Friday face a huge task and very little time to complete it, also in terms of addressing some of the other issues that need attention, mostly resulting from the economic growth the island has seen.
At the same time the tourism economy must be safeguarded, because any major problem, such as should the Air Traffic Control problem at the airport get out of hand, could have a devastating effect. Tourism remains what makes “the Friendly Island” tick and those in power, whoever they may be, need to keep their eyes on the ball in this respect.
While the campaign has been fierce, on the whole the people have so far behaved in a civil manner. One need only remember the friendly encounter between the two largest parties when they presented their candidate lists to realise that political rivalry does not have to translate to animosity.
The voters should keep that in mind when they go to the polls today to make use of their democratic right and fulfil their civic duty. And when it comes to country status, regardless of the election outcome, there should continue to be a “Team St. Maarten.”
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