PHILIPSBURG:--- Prime Minister of St. Maarten Sarah Wescot Williams gave reporters an overview of her recent visit to the Netherlands on Wednesday during the Council of Ministers' weekly press briefing. Wescot Williams said she met with the Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte, Minister of Interior Affairs Ronald Plasterk, and the Vice President of the Council of State. Wescot Williams said that in each of the meetings the matter of the Royal Decree was discussed but the Kingdom is adamant on the decision they took when they issued the decree at the end of September. Wescot Williams confirmed that to date St. Maarten did not receive any information from the Council of State regarding the Royal Decree.
In the meantime, the Government of St. Maarten signed the agreement with Transparency International who will be conducting a systematic investigation while the national draft decree on the establishment of the integrity committee is still to be signed off by the Governor of St. Maarten.
The Prime Minister also reported that most of the points mentioned in the motion of election reform are already in place. When asked if these laws were being executed, she said that the laws are there and people (political parties) have to know that there are laws in place when it comes to elections. The Prime Minister further explained that she believes that there needs to be some tweaking with the electoral law but this she said has to be discussed with Parliament.
The full content of the press briefing can be heard by audio which is posted below this article.