SABA:--- Saba’s Electoral College on Tuesday, May 30th voted for the Dutch First Chamber. All five votes went to Labor Party (PvdA) Senator Jeroen Recourt. PvdA and the green left party GroenLinks have combined their forces in the Senate.
Three of the five Members of the Electoral College, Elsa Peterson, Rolando Wilson, and Vito Charles, voted at the temporary polling station set up in the Court Room of the Government Administration Building at 9.00 am in the presence of the Chairman of the Main Voting Bureau, Island Governor Jonathan Johnson. Two Members voted by proxy on behalf of the two other Electoral College Members Bruce Zagers and Eviton Heyliger who are currently in the Netherlands on a working visit.
Though the role of the Electoral College is not that well-known among many people, it does play a cardinal role in the process to elect the 75 new Members of the First Chamber, together with the Electoral Colleges of Bonaire and St. Eustatius, the Electoral College for Dutch citizens abroad and the Provincial States.
“We believe our participation matters to continue to advocate the interest of the Saba people in The Hague, especially on important issues like the social minimum and other matters that affect our socioeconomic development. It is important to have that influence,” said Vito Charles.
“Especially if we organize and vote united, we can help to make the difference that is needed. It’s also about wanting to be taken seriously in voting in elections that benefit the islands. We were granted the constitutional right to have a say in the composition of the First Chamber and it is important to make use of that,” said Elsa Peterson, the second-highest vote-getter in the March 15, 2023 elections for the Electoral College.
“It is very important to have an influence on the composition of the First Chamber, because just as in the Second Chamber decisions are taken there that directly affect Saba,” said Rolando Wilson.
The five Members of the Saba Electoral College all voted for the combined PvdA/GroenLinks list which they found has the best interest of Saba at heart. The PvdA reached out to Saba and Bonaire for support to vote for the PvdA/GroenLinks list. The Windward Islands People’s Movement (WIPM) was the only party that took part in the March 15 elections for the Electoral College.
