Unbiased look at the Sint Maarten Elections
PHILIPSBURG--Louis Bute, Pamela Annuska Friday-Illis and Ajay Rawtani were elected to the Chamber of Commerce Board during what was referred to as a "smooth" and uneventful election on Friday.
Bute was elected as representative of large businesses, while Friday-Illis and Rawtani were elected to represent small businesses on the Board. Friday-Illis amassed 122 votes. However, there was a three-way tie between Rawtani, Anna Rabess-Richardson and Nkomo Lake, all of whom secured 65 votes. The Elections Committee recounted the ballots several times to determine if they missed something to break the tie, but the count was accurate. In the end, the names of the three candidates were placed in a bag and the lucky name pulled was Rawtani's, making him the second representative for small businesses.
The scene outside the Chamber of Commerce during election on Friday was one similar to general elections, with persons campaigning to get the support of voters.
A total of 284 persons voted in the elections, which represents a little more that voted than last year, Chairman of the Elections Committee Franklin Brison said.
The new Board will sit from January. The positions on the Board are expected to be decided upon in January when the new Board meets. Other candidates in the election were Ann Meyers, Basil Richardson, Keoma Hamer and Vinod Kotai. The election was overseen by a committee comprising Brison, Cleophas Richardson, Myrna Lynch and Charles Benders.
