Philipsburg:--- The leader of the National Alliance William Marlin surrounded by the candidates who were elected as parliamentarians on Friday told reporters that when he contacted the leader of the Democratic Party Sarah Wescot Williams to begin formation talks Wescot Williams told him she already had an agreement with the UP Party to form a government.
Marlin said Wescot Williams and Heyliger did not keep this as a secret since they told reporters on Tuesday night when they signed their political accord that formation talks had begun even before the polling stations had closed on Election Day. Marlin said the only reason he held a press conference was to be able to set the record straight since many persons are saying he did not make an effort to form a government.
Marlin also informed the media that the leader of the United Peoples Party shook hands with his son at 04:30am on Monday morning telling him that should the leader of the National Alliance agree to give him three ministries including Public Works, Chairman of Parliament and Minister of Plenipotentiary and control over all the government owned companies then the UP and NA would have formed a government. Marlin said when his son and another member of the National Alliance asked Heyliger about the declaration of intent he had with the DP, Heyliger responded by saying that is why they worded the agreement the way they did. Marlin said the member of the National Alliance who partook in that meeting was supposed to draft the governing accord and send it to the UP and NA leader to be reviewed and signed. Marlin said when he was informed about the meeting he asked his son if he was not being played by the UP leader and it turned out that was exactly what the UP leader Theo Heyliger did.
Marlin made clear he has no hard feelings that his party has been left out of the process but he can assure the media that the public is very upset because the party that received the majority votes in 15 districts was left out. Marlin further explained that the reaction he has gotten from the people of St. Maarten thus far is that their will has been put aside. This is a reality the people either will have to live with or not accept.
Marlin said he wants to set the record straight because it is clear that the UP and the DP had an agreement to form government. Marlin said by their own words they said they began negotiations before the polling stations were closed on Friday. Marlin all seven of the candidates on the National Alliance slate that were elected will be taking their seats in parliament and they will be a force to be reckoned with in the parliament of country St. Maarten. Marlin further explained that his faction will continue to fight for what is right and they have always said that they are on team St. Maarten and they will continue to look out for the people's interest.
The National Alliance leader said St. Maarten has its own constitution and the seven members of from the National Alliance will be defending that constitution in parliament for the people of St. Maarten.
He said based on the results of the island election the candidates on the National Alliance slate received the majority in 15 districts and the candidates on the National Alliance were broadly accepted by the voters. Marlin said if anyone analyzes the results they will see that the National Alliance had more of their candidates in the top ten spots.
UP was trying to take NA members before and after election
In response to a question posed by SMN News as to whether or not the leader of the National Alliance was trying to convince members of the UP to join in forming a government. Marlin said he never contacted any individual candidates. However, the other two parties contacted members of the National Alliance even before they launched their slate to have the NA members join them. Marlin further explained that those parties contacted at least two of the candidates that were elected on the National Alliance slate to join them to form this new government. He said they wanted a broader base rather than a majority by one seat which they believe is not solid enough and concerns were also raised about the in-experienced people that were elected in the other parties.
Broad Base Government
Asked if the National Alliance was willing to form a broad base government Marlin said on numerous occasions he said political parties needed to bury the hatchet and put aside their political differences and work together for St. Maarten. Thus, he wants to make clear that it is not a decision of the National Alliance to stay outside of government. He asked why would he have chosen to remain in government and to take care of the people's affairs while others were busy campaigning and most of all, why would he and the team of the National Alliance have worked so hard to make sure St. Maarten gets its desire to become a country on October 10th 2010.
Marlin said his hard work and dedication over the past year was not for him to leave government now. He said despite being the largest faction in the new parliament and the party that clearly won the election they were forced out.
He told reporters they should be asking the two other parties that formed the government why they began negotiating before the election results were announced. Marlin said it is clear that the UP and DP have placed their parties and personal interests before the interest of the people of St. Maarten when they formed the coalition government.
Furthermore, he made it clear that it is unfair to the people of St. Maarten who gave the National Alliance a resounding victory in every district which gave them more than 25% more votes than the UP to be shut out and not given the opportunity to govern. Marlin said he heard that persons who are interested in seeing the two parties govern St. Maarten met with them prior to Election Day to see to it that they come together in an effort to keep the National Alliance out of government.
Marlin said over the years the Democratic Party has dwindled and for the public to see that they are the ones who would be delivering Prime Minister on 10/10/10 is ridiculous. He said in recent functioning democracy there are certain rules to live by but in this case the self interest of individuals and political parties is what mattered most.
