Ouenniche interim
chamber president
~ Election to be called within three months ~
PHILIPSBURG--The board of the St. Maarten Chamber of Commerce and Industry has voted for Ludwig Ouenniche to take up the position of interim president of the board.
He will function in this position until an election is held for the position, which became vacant when former president Michel Hodge resigned last month. An election has to be called within three months.
Hodge resigned because of “undue stress” and “other issues within the board.” He had said he had a heart condition and thought it best to move on, in the interest of the chamber.
During an extraordinary meeting on Wednesday, the board voted for Ouenniche to take up the position of interim president. Based on the chamber’s constitution, an election has to be called within three months of a member resigning so that a full board can function.
The Executive Council has been informed of this development and the Election Committee will have to call an election to vote for a ninth member of the chamber board, Ouenniche said on Thursday.
“The chamber’s by-laws state that we need to have nine members. So whenever someone steps down from the board, an election has to be called to vote in another person, because we can’t function with eight members,” he said.
Once a ninth member has been elected, then the full board will vote for someone to assume the position of president.
Ouenniche said that as interim president he would assume all the functions of president. He said the existing board would determine its plan of action for the next term during its next meeting.
