PHILIPSBURG:--- Prime Minister William Marlin announced on Wednesday that the draft amendments to be made on electoral reform has been completed and it will be sent to the Council of Advice for their perusal.
He said the Council of Ministers took the decision to dispatch the draft changes on Wednesday to the Council of Advice then it will be formerly sent to the Council of State for them to prepare their advice for the Kingdom Government. He said if the two main organs approve the draft changes then it will be debated in the Parliament of St. Maarten.
Marlin said the current draft deals with how a government could be formed. One being the curbing of ship jumping. He said based on the draft, a government could only be formed by political parties and not individual Members of Parliament while they also have in the amendments the possibility to allow students studying abroad the opportunity to vote. Marlin said students who had to write out of St. Maarten because they had to leave the island to pursue their education in the Netherlands or other countries should be entitled to vote here on St. Maarten since they did not choose to leave St. Maarten and live elsewhere.
