Says the best thing for everyone is to move forward in the interest of the people; "Governing has to continue"
Philipsburg:--- During a special edition of her weekly radio broadcast on 98.1 Pearl FM, the Prime Minister of St. Maarten the Honorable Sarah Wescot-Williams answered questions and gave thorough explanation on the current political developments currently being experienced by the Country. The Prime Minister explained various items related to the dissolution of Parliament, her role as Prime Minister and the role of the Governor in the current political environment. One of the main points made by the Prime Minister is that Ministers cannot move to dissolve Parliament in order to keep from being fired.
"What we are seeing again on St. Maarten is similar to what we saw last year where you had a shift in terms of the Parliamentary Coalitions or the Parliamentary combinations. While there are several things that are up for discussion, the main fact remains that the Majority of the Parliament of St. Maarten has taken a position that they no longer support the Government of St. Maarten as is and that the eight members that form the Parliamentary Majority have found a common ground to issue a declaration stating that they can work together with another government or a new government.
"We must remember that the fundamentals of our democracy is that Parliament of St. Maarten is the supreme body and that the last word rests with them. What has become a topic of debate because of that Central Democratic Principle is whether that statement as signed off by a majority of Parliament, the eight members we have been referring to, can suffice to have a change towards a government with which Parliament can work. The fact remains that the political reality is that a Majority of Parliament, whether you agree with the actors involved or not, or whether you agree with the actors involved in 2012 or not, no longer supports the Government and certain Ministers. Once this happens then the processes as outlined in the law need to be allowed to take their course," stated the PM.
"I, like I did as Prime Minister in 2012, have as my job that as soon as the signal has been given that there is no longer majority support of Government in Parliament, and correspondences to that effect have been sent to the Government, to Parliament and to the Governor, it is then upon me to tender the resignation of my Cabinet and the Cabinet Ministers. It must be understood that it is clearly outlined in the law that this cannot be twisted nor be turned; if Parliament declares that it does not have confidence in one or more Ministers, that Minister or those Ministers will then have to make their position available. No Ifs, No Buts, No Whens or No Hows. This is what the law states and we must adhere to this or else we would be in reality breaking the law."
During the hour long radio broadcast the Prime Minister also explained that indeed Parliament can be dissolved by Government given certain circumstances as outlined in the Constitution through a Decree, but that this must occur in consideration of various factors: "The issue here is how and in what instance would Government dissolve Parliament. The dissolution of Parliament can never be a result of Parliament saying that they have no more confidence in Government. That would, like I mentioned in previous statements, turn things on its head. Imagine a scenario where a Majority of Parliament decides they do not have any confidence in the Ministers. Imagine now that then the Ministers can then quickly run and dissolve Parliament to save their seat. Or to put it in other words dissolve Parliament in order to not get fired. We will then have a situation that Government will be able to decide on the fate of Parliament, which is not up to the Government to do. However you can, for example, have a situation that there is an impasse in Parliament where there is no cooperation or majority. In that case there would be no effective Government resulting in a political crises. In a case like that then yes, Government can step in and dissolve Parliament which has as a secondary result new elections, but not when a Minister tries to save his or her position by trying to dissolve Parliament. That is the cardinal issue at play here. Imagine it was customary that every time Parliament speaks its mind about a Minister or Ministers and they feel a vote of no confidence will be tabled they run to dissolve Parliament in order to keep from being fired; that would result in an erosion of our democratic system," emphasized Prime Minister Wescot-Williams.
The Prime Minister did confirm that certain Members of Government have explored the possibility of invoking the article necessary for dissolution in order to avoid a motion of no confidence, and have made a proposal for the Council of Ministers to take that decision. "If and when that does occur I will do what I have to do as Prime Minister, what I will do in any case when a proposal is tabled no matter what that proposal is, and that is to make sure that it is ready, advised upon and has the legal context before it is put to Council for debate in order for a decision to be taken on it."
The Prime Minister did stress that once Parliament decides through the majority that they have no confidence in the Ministers, those Ministers are required by law to immediately make their position available. "When this happens the dismissal will have to be done by a decree of Government and new Ministers will be appointed also by Decree of Government. Of course incoming Ministers will be screened in accordance to the law to ensure that they are fit to be Ministers," stated the PM.
The Prime Minister also explained the formal role of the Governor; "The Governor is actually the head of the Government, however he has no political responsibility. So when decisions are taken or a decree is sent to him for signature the Governor cannot reject that. However what the Governor does have the authority to do is that if a Decree or decision is sent to him taken by Ministers or the Council of Ministers, and if he believes that that Decree is in conflict with a law or in the general interest of the Kingdom, the Governor has the possibility to seek an annulment of that decision depending on the relationship between the Governor and the Ministers or Council of Ministers," explained the Prime Minister.
Wescot-Williams also answered various questions posed by listeners to the program, one of which was centered on the issue of governing being relegated to second place when Political Events such as the recent one takes place. The Prime Minister answered that indeed, during any event marked by political change, debate or anything of that nature there is an impact on the functioning of Government. "Right now we have seen that people are starting to wonder about what is going to happen. What will happen to ongoing projects or complaints or contacts with a particular Ministry or Ministries. It must be clear that these types of issues and circumstances have an impact on Government. But it must also be clear that Government will continue and Ministers will continue to work until they are replaced. The best thing in situations like this is that there is clarity and that it is clarity as soon as possible because the lack thereof significantly slows things down. The best thing for everyone at this moment, and something which I would like to emphasize, is that decisions are taken quickly and that we move forward as quickly as possible in the interest of the people," concluded the PM.
From the Cabinet of the Prime Minister
