Four political parties signed declaration of intent to form a coalition government.

~Ministers of TEATT, Finance, VROMI, and Prime Minister to remain in office. ~

PHILIPSBURG: --- Four of the nine political parties that contested the August 19^th, 2024, parliamentary elections signed a declaration of intent to form the next coalition government. The signing took place at the government administration building on Thursday, August 22^nd, 2024.

Those who signed the declaration of intent are the leader of the Party for Progress (PFP), Melissa Gumbs, Democratic Party (DP) leader, Sarah Wescot Williams, leader of the Soualiga Action Movement (SAM) Franklyn Meyers and leader of the Unified Resilient St. Maarten Movement (URSM) Prime Minister Dr. Luc Mercelina. Notably, the other members of Parliament supporting the coalition did not sign the declaration of intent in the presence of the media or guests.

The party leaders that signed the declaration of intent that will be sent to the governor of St. Maarten said that the division of portfolios is as follows:

• The Ministry of VROMI and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth, and Sports have been assigned to the PFP. The current Minister of VROMI, Patrice Gumbs, will hold the post.
• The Democratic Party has the Ministries of Finance and TEATT, while Party leader Sarah Wescott Williams will hold the President of Parliament. Finance will be held by the current Minister of Finance, Marinka Gumbs, while the current Minister, Grisha Heyliger Marten, will maintain the Minister of TEATT.
• SAM has the Ministry of Justice. Franklyn Meyers, the leader of SAM, said that he would remain a Member of Parliament. He also did not divulge who his party would nominate to occupy the position of Minister of Justice.
• URSM will hold the Ministry of General Affairs, the Ministry of VSA, and the Minister of Plenipotentiary. Prime Minister Mercelina declared that he would be the Prime Minister and that his government would govern for the next four years.

SMN News learned that Member of Parliament Richinel Brug would be the next Minister of VSA, even though that was not announced at the signing on Thursday.

Drs. Gracita Arrindell will also return to the Netherlands as the Minister of Plenipotentiary. The coalition partners have decided not to appoint a deputy Minister of Plenipotentiary since they want to remain budget-friendly.

The party leaders said that they intend to work on electoral reform the moment they take office and on screening Ministers; the Democratic Party leader, Sarah Wescot Williams, intends to cap the length of time the screening process can take.

Prime Minister Mercelina said there were no significant incidents during the August 19th, 2024, elections, for which he is thankful. Mercelina thanked the populace for using their rights to vote, especially those who voted for him resoundingly.