PHILIPSBURG: --- Chairlady of Parliament Sarah Wescot Williams said on Monday at a press conference that she will be calling a fourth Public Meeting of Parliament on Monday, May 20th, to verify the credentials of the two incoming Members of Parliament, namely Richnel Bruk and Viren Kotai.
Wescot Williams said that six members of Parliament have traveled to Brazil to attend Parlatino meetings, so the parliament of St. Maarten will not have sufficient members present to form a quorum for the meeting to be held before May 20th.
SMN News asked Wescot Williams why the eight members of parliament who form the two-by-four coalition did not show up for the meeting on May 2nd when it was first called. Wescot Williams said that she could not say exactly why all members of parliament did not attend that meeting.
Regarding the meeting held on Monday, May 6th, Wescot Williams was also asked if she, as the chair of parliament, was within her rights to deny the opposition members of parliament the opportunity to vote when they asked that an agenda point be added, which was dismissed. Wescot Williams made clear that she was fully within her rights not only to deny the request to modify the agenda of the meeting and to add agenda points but also that she was within her rights based on the rules of order to refuse the vote.
The chair of parliament was also asked to explain how the parliament of St. Maarten could book the letters of resignation on May 1st, a public holiday; Wescot Williams explained that the letter of resignation was sent by email on April 29th, 2020, stating that the resignation goes into effect as of May 3rd, 2024. Wescot Williams said that even though May 1st was a public holiday, the Parliament of St. Maarten continues to work even on a public holiday.
Wescot Williams said she is hopeful that all members of parliament will show up to carry out their duties and that the parliament of St. Maarten will not have to head to court to get the documents of the incoming members of parliament, or they may have to use other options such as seeking the governor’s assistance or the Kingdom Council. The chair of parliament also admitted that there is a standoff in the parliament of St. Maarten.
