Paris/St. Martin:--- The State Council, Commission national des comptes de campagne et des financements politiques (CNCCFP) in its decision rendered on April 12th, 2013 quoted articles L. 52-4 to L. 52-18 where they stated that political campaign accounts are rejected on two basis. One being if the political party showed willful intentions to commit fraud or if they deliberately broke the rules on campaign accounting.
In the case of the RRR political party, the CNCCFP found absolutely no trace of fraud committed by the RRR Political Party and its leader. However, the CNCCFP found enough reasons to reject the RRR accounts on the second part of the law which states that the RRR breached (broke) the rules when the political party opened two bank accounts for its political campaign for the March 18th and March 25th, 2012 elections.
SMN News apologized to President Richardson and the RRR party for the error published earlier. "We want to make clear that SMN News had no willful or bad intentions when we did not break down the law completely in the English language for our readers. SMN News also called President Richardson to apologize to him personally for the misinterpretations but he said he was busy.
A Territorial Council meeting is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon where the new President of the COM will be elected by the majority vote of the council.
A copy of the decision rendered by the State Council can be viewed beneath this article. A breakdown of the decision follows:
Excerpts from the decision of the STATE COUNCIL
N° 364071
Session of 27 March 2013
Reading of 12 April 2013
1. Considering that ... the provisions of title 1 of book 1 of the electoral code dedicated to the provisions, which are common to the election of members of parliament, general councilors and municipal councilors, are automatically applicable to the elections of territorial councilors of the overseas collectivity of Saint-Martin for everything that is not contrary to the special provisions pertaining to them; that the provisions relative to the financing and ceiling of the electoral expenses mentioned in articles L. 52-4 to L. 52-18 of this code are therefore applicable; that the second paragraph of article L. 52-6 of the same code especially provides that the financial representative designated by the candidate is under the obligation to open a single bank or postal account tracking the entirety of his/her financial operations; that in application of the third paragraph of article L. 118-3 of the same code, the judge of the election pronounces the ineligibility of the candidate, whose campaign account has fairly been rejected in a case of willful fraud or especially serious breach of the rules relative to the financing of electoral campaigns; that the fourth paragraph of the same article indicates precisely that this ineligibility is pronounced for a maximum period of three years and applies to all elections;
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5. Considering, however, that if the creation of a new territorial collectivity within the Republic made it necessary to adopt a new and specific legislative and regulatory system, the provisions of the electoral code applicable for the elections of territorial councilors of this new collectivity, basically taken from the provisions applicable to elections in France, are not ambiguous and do not give rise to any difficulty of interpretation; that the opening of a single postal or bank account denominated in euro in no way obstructed the payment of expenses made in a foreign currency during the electoral campaign; that, in this way, Mr. Richardson, a chartered accountant by profession, an experienced politician, a territorial councilor of Saint-Martin elected in 2007, must be considered as having deliberately neglected a very important rule of the financing of electoral campaign; that consequently he has committed a particularly serious breach of the rules of the financing of electoral campaign;
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COM Mum on Decision --- First Vice President to move up to President's spot.
While the State Council rendered its decisions on Friday April 12th, 2013 and the RRR majority is aware of the sanctions taken by the State Council, so far President Richardson who has been ousted from his seat is still to make an official announcement. SMN News learnt that the RRR majority met in a closed door meeting on Saturday at the Collectivity of St. Martin to discuss who will be replacing Richardson.
SMN News learnt that first Vice President Aline Hanson will be taking her position as President of the Collectivity since she is the first vice president of the RRR majority. Sources close to the political party said that the RRR was looking at holding a territorial council meeting later this week where the new president will be elected by the majority vote of the Territorial Council. However, that does not seem likely because first Vice President Aline Hanson has to first resign from her position as school principal and from the SEMSAMAR board since the positions she currently hold are not compatible with her new position.
Click here to view the Decision rendered by the State Council.
