Unbiased look at the Sint Maarten Elections
PHILIPSBURG:--- Leader of the Democratic Party Sarah Wescot Williams sent an official letter to the leader of the UPP Theodore Heyliger informing him that she has withdrawn her support from his coalition government.The letter sent to Heyliger is dated November 18th, 2014. Below is the full text of the letter that Wescot Williams also shared with the media of St. Maarten.
Honorable Formateur Heyliger,
On October 9, 2014, you in your capacity as Formateur and I acting on behalf of the Democratic Party of St. Maarten signed in agreement to "participate and support the formation of the Government for St. Maarten for the period 2014-2018", under the condition to participate in the working out of details of a governing accord and that Ministers etc. "will be decided on collectively".None of these have transpired and I hereby withdraw my support as described in addenda I and II of October 9th 2014.
Kind regards,Sarah Wescot-WilliamsOn behalf of the (DP) St. Maarten
Wescot Williams also informed the griffier of Parliament on November 19th that she will be the faction leader of Parliament on behalf of the Democratic Party. Below is the text sent to the griffier of Parliament which was also copied to the Vice Chair of Parliament Leona Marlin Romeo.
Dear Nancy,
Kindly note that with immediate effect the undersigned will act as faction leader for the Democratic Party faction in Parliament.
Kind regards
Sarah Wescot-WilliamsMember of Parliament ((DP))
(DP) Board Expels MP De Weever from Democratic Party --- De Weever has until November 28th to appeal the decision of the Board.
Wescot Williams also lived up to what she told members of the media when she exposed the reasons she withdrew her support from the current coalition government. During that press conference Wescot Williams said that the (DP) board and its membership have decided that they will write MP de Weever a letter which they did by informing him that based on his actions they have taken the decision to expel him from the Democratic Party. Below is the contents of the letter sent to MP Cornelius de Weever.
Dear Cornelius,
In the interest of this communication, it is important that we revisit some relevant points in the relationship between yourself and the Democratic Party, specifically following the August 29th parliamentary election.
Without any indication of such and following a few brief internal emails on the topic of the "counterpart issue", you signed an agreement on October 3rd with 7 UPP parliamentarians to form the next government, betraying those you worked with on the formation of the NA/(DP)/USP governing program and your fellow candidates and (DP) members.That alone would constitute reason for immediate disbarment from the (DP) with the consequences as spelled out in our articles of incorporation.
However, after several discussions with yourself and Mr. Leroy de Weever, it was decided in the interest of the party to band together and throw our Party's support behind what by that time had become the UP/CDW/LMR coalition.This was also done because matters like integrity etc. were being touted by the new government coalition and considering how intensely we campaigned on the matter of integrity and transparency, going as far as having our candidates sign a pledge to this effect.
Following the signing between the Formateur, Mr. Heyliger and the (DP) leader on behalf of the (DP) on October 9th, several discussions took place regarding nominees for the ministries of Public Health, Labor and Social Development and that of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports. These discussions were between yourself and the (DP) leader and on one occasion in the presence of Mr. F. Meyers and Mr. T. Heyliger.
After due consideration, the (DP) leader submitted to the Formateur on October 28, the names of Y. Halley and E. Lee for the post of Minister for Education, Culture, Youth and Sports and Public Health, Labor and Social Affairs respectively and copied you. At that time you were abroad.
Lo and behold, approximately 2 weeks later, you dispatch a letter to the Formateur in your name, in which you submitted the names of 2 other candidates, one of those being Leroy de Weever. You referred in this letter to an agreement you signed on September 24th. This agreement is unknown to us.
In addition, on more than one occasion and once in the presence of the Formateur, you dismissed the candidacy of Mrs. R. Gumbs as a fleeting thought, based on a discussion you had with MP S. Jacobs of the NA.Any reference to Leroy de Weever was very brief and related to him being possibly offered a post in the field of foreign affairs in another country.
Coincidentally, on November 6th, you, on behalf of the (DP) FACTION, submitted together with 2 other MPs, a request for a public meeting of Parliament. The (DP) only learned of this request when the (DP) leader received such in the capacity of chairperson of Parliament.
It should be more than evident that the above goes against every grain of decency, politically or otherwise. You have acted against all that the Democratic Party stands for, its articles of incorporation and your own signed declarations of consent and of abidance.It is our opinion that the above, singularly and jointly constitutes grounds for immediate expulsion as a member of the Democratic Party. Nevertheless, we do believe that the opportunity to appeal your expulsion should be given to you, should you wish to do so. In such a case, you should inform the Board of this by Friday, November 28th, no later than 5 pm.
Kind regards,
On behalf of the Board of the Democratic Party,Hasani Ellis, PresidentSarah Wescot-Williams, Leader
