Philipsburg:--- Member of Parliament Patrick Illidge made his position known in a diplomatic way on Monday morning when he stayed and gave his support to the newly formed Democratic Party, United People's Party, and Laville Government. Illidge said the system was tested for weeks at the expense of the people when the government of St. Maarten fell on May 6th, 2013. He also criticized the 2013 budget which he and the other Members of Parliament voted upon. Member of Parliament Patrick Illidge then expressed his support for the new government when he voted in favor of the newly elected President of Parliament Gracita Arrindell who was elected by nine votes.
Member of Parliament Petrus Leroy De Weever cemented Illidge's behavior when he said that they are nine MPs in Parliament supporting the new Government. "Yes, we know we are eight but we also have the support of MP Illidge," De Weever said. De Weever even wanted the vice chair of Parliament Romaine Laville who chaired Monday's meeting to appoint Patrick Illidge to be part of the committee that was established for the voting. Laville appointed MP Roy Marlin and MP Ruth Douglass as the voting committee but MP De Weever said he wanted Illidge to be added to the committee so it would have been a broad based committee. The chairman then read the rules of order which clearly stipulated that two members must be appointed and not three.
The Members of the National Alliance namely Rodolphe Samuel, George Pantophlet, and Hyacinth Richardson all opposed the meeting claiming that the meeting on Monday was taking place in violation of the rules of order. Samuel said that article 27 of the rules of order clearly states that meetings must be called within 14 days and the request that was submitted surpassed that time frame. Samuel further explained that meetings of Parliament cannot take place if one Member of Parliament opposed, which is clearly stated in article 89 of the rules of order. The three National Alliance Members of Parliament then left the House of Parliament after expressing their views. However, MP Lloyd Richardson who signed in to speak remained in the meeting and he too objected to the meeting going forward based on the same articles. MP Richardson also stated that he will not stall the process but he will not be participating in the meeting that was being held in violation of the rules of order.
It should be noted that what transpired on Monday during the meeting to elect the new chairman of Parliament is to give MP Romaine Laville a clear message that the UP/DP Government does not have to depend on him alone because they have a spare tire in place due to MP Patrick Illidge giving his support to the new coalition.