Heyliger may support
an NA-led government
Theo may support NA-led Govt
PHILIPSBURG--St. Maarten may soon have a National Alliance-led government with the full support and participation of current Democratic Party (DP) Commissioner Theo Heyliger.
Reliable reports reaching The Daily Herald over the last two days said Heyliger was expected to withdraw his support for the DP and declare himself an independent member of the Island Council.
In that regard, he would join Louie Laveist who announced last week that he was quitting the Democratic Party, would be serving as an independent member in the Island Council, and would be backing the NA.
Heyliger’s declaration may come as early as today or tomorrow, depending on whether or how early he and the NA headed by Island Councilman William Marlin reach agreement on the structure of the new government and its governing programme, both of which were being hammered out up to yesterday.
The way the cards were laid on the table up to yesterday evening indicated that Heyliger would be allowed to name a second Commissioner in the new government to be formed. The Daily Herald also understands that this could mean the return of a former commissioner (not Laveist) to the Executive Council as an appointed (non-elected) member.
These latest developments, coming in the wake of Laveist’s recent arrest and nine-day detention on suspicion of committing forgery, suggest significant disarray within the Democratic Party headed by Commissioner Sarah Wescot-Williams. They also leave the current DP government on the brink of collapse.
Should Heyliger, the second largest DP vote-getter in the April 2007 Island Council elections, declare himself an independent member of the Island Council, that would leave DP with only four seats in the council – those of Executive Council members Wescot-Williams, Maria Buncamper-Molanus and Roy Marlin, and Island Councilman Leroy de Weever – one fewer than the five now held by NA.
Giving some information on the latest developments, DP leader Commissioner Sarah Wescot-Williams told a press conference on Monday that the developments were no trivial matter.
“That’s why I believe open card should be played with the public of St. Maarten, something I surely intend to do. I know of many negotiations taking place, jockeying if you wish. However, my hope is that any person(s) engaging in such negotiations truly put the country of St. Maarten first,” Wescot-Williams said.
She pointed out that she had been through many similar situations and warned that based on the critical juncture at which St. Maarten had arrived pertaining to its future constitutional status, the island needed persons who put the country first and realised it was not about personal agendas.
She confirmed that DP was also part of ongoing discussions to form a new government, but did not want to go into detail about with whom the party was negotiating. She reported, however, that her attempts during the entire weekend to talk to “non-active” Commissioner and Island Council member Louie Laveist had been to no avail.
Asked about the formation of a national government consisting of DP and NA, she said it would not be the first time the island had such a government. It happened when island was recuperating from the critical condition in which it had been left after Hurricane Luis in 1995.
Meanwhile, Laveist is still to officially hand in his letters to the Lt. Governor announcing his withdrawal of support from the current Executive Council and his decision to serve as an independent member in the Island Council.
Wescot-Williams said the government had received no formal correspondence from Laveist up to Monday morning and she had had no formal communication with or from him since he had written her in her capacity as DP leader.
Outlining how the system worked, she said: “The whole development is part of the system that governs us. While we speak of the seats of the DP and National Alliance, the fact is once these seats are occupied by the persons elected to those seats it’s not a matter of taking back any seats or asking or demanding any seat that so-called belongs to the party.
“Whether the person is elected by 20, 200 or 2,000 votes, the fact is it’s always the person occupying that seat who would have to make the decision what happens to the seat in event of a break.”
Once Laveist submits his letters, Wescot-Williams said, members of the Executive Council have to take a decision what to do. The Commissioners either decide to resign their positions or wait for the matter to be brought to the Island Council.
“The benefit of the latter is that especially the people of St. Maarten hopefully can and will hear the whole story surrounding a potential change of government.”
The DP leader said finally that she took note of the allegations as to the reasoning why Laveist no longer supported DP. “It’s not for me to refute these allegations, but I think that those who made the allegations need to come clean and explain rather than put it off and say it will take place some time.”
