SXMElections.com

UP seeks full mandate, no coalition on Friday

PHILIPSBURG--A full mandate for the United People's (UP) party, not a coalition government, in Friday's Parliamentary Elections was collective message of the party's 23 candidates to supporters at the final public meeting of the campaign held on the ring road Wednesday night.

UP leader Theo Heyliger told the gathering that from the start of the campaign all the other political parties had focused their attack on UP Read more

St. Maarten restates objections to Rutte

THE HAGUE/PHILIPSBURG--The Government of St. Maarten has informed the Kingdom Council of Ministers that it will adopt many of the recommendations by the Wit-Samson Integrity Committee, but not without reiterating its objections to the way The Hague imposed an integrity audit via the governor of St. Maarten and the "continued blurring of norms on the Kingdom level."

In the letter dated August 21, 2014, St. Maarten Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams and Justice Minister Dennis Richardson informed Chairman of the Kingdom Council of Ministers, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte of the position of the St Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- President of Parliament Hon. Gracita Arrindell on Monday received a courtesy call from Indian Ambassador Smita Purushottam at the House of Parliament.

Ambassador Purushottam's visit is of a courtesy nature to meet the Governor, President of Parliament and Prime Minister as well as to meet with Indian nationals.

President Arrindell stated on Tuesday that the Ambassador is stationed in Venezuela.

"The Ambassador's visit was to acquaint herself with the institutions of the country Read more

Indian Ambassador To Venezuela Visits: Indian Merchants Association Snubs Parliament

St. Maarten – In what appears to be a political move, the Indian Merchants Association (IMA) snubbed the Governor and Members of Parliament, including President Gracita Arrindell, on the first visit of the Indian Ambassador to Venezuela, Smita Purushottam, by not inviting them to an event tonight at the Belair Community Center. According to sources, the only member of the St Read more

Tripartite Parliamentary Meeting Concludes On St. Maarten

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The Tripartite meeting between Members of Parliament of Aruba, Curacao and St. Maarten ended here on Tuesday Morning.

The urgently convene meeting between the parties was to discuss some issues of importance for the three countries.

These include among others, the recent decision of the Kingdom Council of Ministers to give an instruction to the Governor of St. Maarten to investigate integrity related issues within the public administration, and the instruction given to the Governor of Aruba to with hold his signature to the draft budget of 2014 of that country.

The meeting was at the request of the Parliament of Aruba Read more

President Arrindell Receives Courtesy Call From Indian Ambassador

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – President of Parliament Hon. Gracita Arrindell on Monday received a courtesy call from Indian Ambassador Smita Purushottam at the House of Parliament.

Ambassador Purushottam's visit is of a courtesy nature to meet the Governor, President of Parliament and Prime Minister as well as to meet with Indian nationals.

President Arrindell stated on Tuesday that the Ambassador is stationed in Venezuela.

"The Ambassador's visit was to acquaint herself with the institutions of the country Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The Presidents of Parliament of Curacao, Aruba and Sint Maarten held an urgent tri-partite session at the House of Parliament on August 18th, 2014 in Philipsburg. The members of the Permanent Committees of the three countries of the Kingdom Affairs and Inter-parliamentary Relations were present.

The Committee from Aruba suggested the agenda point which is to reach a consensus on creating the legal framework within the Kingdom for legal constitutional disputes between the countries in the Kingdom Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- President of Parliament Hon. Gracita Arrindell had the honour of meeting Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese in France Cardinal Archbishop Philippe Barbarin. The Cardinal was accompanied by Bishop of Basse Terre & Pointe a Pitre in Guadeloupe Jean-Yves Riocreux.

President Arrindell was invited to form part of the welcoming delegation which included Prefet Philippe Chopin, Madame President of the Collectivite Aline Hanson as well as Father Bob Johnson.

The Cardinal and Bishop arrived last week Wednesday at Grand Case Airport from Guadeloupe.

"The Cardinal expressed his sincere gratitude for the warm welcome he received from the dignitaries from both sides of the island Read more

MPs agree to motion on dispute committee

PHILIPSBURG--The tripartite meeting of Members of the Parliaments (MPs) of St. Maarten, Aruba and Curaçao to discuss a uniform stance on the installation of the kingdom dispute committee had a bit of a rocky start in St. Maarten Monday afternoon, but by early night the delegations had a draft motion worded the way they desired.

The motion and other related statements from the meeting are set to be signed at Parliament House this morning. More information about the content will be made public at that time Read more

Number two candidates debate country matters

BELAIR--Coalition, government's essential duty to the people, reducing the country's debts, immigration and other topics were dealt with by the number two candidates on the slates of five parties contesting the August 29 Parliamentary Elections at the second Arts Video Studio (AVS) political debate in Belair Community Centre on Sunday evening.

Participating in the debate were Leona Marlin-Romeo (United St Read more

President Arrindell Meets French Cardinal Barbarin And Bishop Riocreux

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – President of Parliament Hon. Gracita Arrindell had the honour of meeting Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese in France Cardinal Archbishop Philippe Barbarin.

The Cardinal was accompanied by Bishop of Basse Terre & Pointe a Pitre in Guadeloupe Jean-Yves Riocreux.

President Arrindell was invited to form part of the welcoming delegation which included Prefet Philippe Chopin, Madame President of the Collectivite Aline Hanson as well as Father Bob Johnson.

The Cardinal and Bishop arrived last week Wednesday at Grand Case Airport from Guadeloupe.

"The Cardinal expressed his sincere gratitude for the warm welcome he received from the dignitaries from both sides of the island Read more

Coast Guard ceremony as Poema changes command

SIMPSON BAY--Sadness and joy were the two keywords at a Coast Guard ceremony yesterday as Commander of the Poema Aart-Henk Goossens said goodbye to the Coast Guard and St. Maarten, and new commander Humberto Alberts was welcomed.

The event, which took place in front of the brightly decorated Poema, was attended by various dignitaries including President of Parliament Gracita Arrindell and Minister of Justice Dennis Richardson Read more

EWE owners question when amendment will be handled

CUL DE SAC--The owners of Industry and Golden Rock Plantations, commonly called Emilio Wilson Estate (EWE), want to know from Parliament, in particular the United People's (UP) party, when the amendments to the 2014 budget that includes the funds to purchase a significant portion of EWE will be handled by Parliament.

Owners met with the Council of Ministers on July 10 and agreed they would still consider the payback of US $1.5 million to government from the sale price for community projects, if the budget amendment were passed through Parliament by today, August 15.

The amendment originally was scheduled for handling on June 30, but the meeting of the Central Committee of Parliament never took place due to lack of a quorum Read more

Dennis updates MPs about tackling crime

PHILIPSBURG--Justice Minister Dennis Richardson gave Members of Parliament (MPs) updates on the Police's efforts to tackle crime in the community at a Central Committee meeting of Parliament on Monday. The meeting was scheduled to take place last week, but was postponed until yesterday, due to a lack of quorum.

Richardson said the country's crime levels are at a place where other countries in the immediate surrounding will be "jealous of." The police force has been tackling preventable crimes and have been making arrests and getting breaks in large cases Read more

Two Days Left To Nominate For Annual President Of Parliament Award

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – President of Parliament Hon. Gracita Arrindell says two days are left to consider nominating somebody for the Annual President of Parliament Award. The public and organizations have until Friday.

The application documents are on the parliament's website. Persons have until August 15, 2014 to submit their nominations.

The website address is: www.sxmparliament.org and can be found under the documents section on the right side of the site Read more

Cadastre still to be moved to VROMI

PHILIPSBURG--The Cadastre (Kadaster in Dutch) and Mortgage Registry still legally falls under the Ministry of Finance, while the practical responsibility is that of the Ministry of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI.

A report submitted by Ombudsman Nilda Arduin about the operations of the Cadastre was before Parliament in a Central Committee meeting on Friday. However, after Members of Parliament asked questions, President of Parliament Gracita Arrindell suspended the meeting until further notice to give VROMI Minister Maurice Lake time to get the go ahead from the Council of Ministers to discuss the Cadastre and its work Read more

Parliamentarians irked at De Weever’s ‘condescending’ remarks in meeting

~ De Weever will offer 'no apologies' for telling truth ~

PHILIPSBURG--Several Members of Parliament (MPs) condemned on Wednesday the manner in which Minister of Health, Labour and Social Affairs VSA Cornelius de Weever addressed Parliament during the Central Committee meeting, with some MPs saying the minister had been "condescending," "disrespectful" and 'sarcastic."

De Weever responded by saying he had "sat quietly" and "took it all" from MPs in his three years going to Parliament to answer questions, while watching some MPs put on a "grand performance." De Weever said he would not sit and allow anyone to "play politics" with the work his ministry had done Read more

Crime meeting stalled due to lack of quorum

PHILIPSBURG--Tuesday's Central Committee of Parliament meeting about the crime situation in the country was stalled due to a lack of quorum. Only three fractions – National Alliance (NA), United People's (UP) people, and independent Member of Parliament Patrick Illidge – were present for the meeting with Justice Minister Dennis Richardson and the top brass of the police force.

Parliament has seven fractions thus representatives of at least four fractions are requested for a Central Committee meeting to take place.

The meeting in Parliament House was scheduled to start at 10:00am Read more

Draft law to prevent youth criminal behaviour soon

PHILIPSBURG--A draft law regulating methods of social reform for youngsters will soon be before Parliament. The law will pertain to youth who have had a brush with crime and those who may be at risk for criminal behaviour and may fall through the cracks of society. The law will outline opportunities for them to receive training and support.

The Ministry of Justice is working on the draft law to regulate a "Social Formation Programme" for youngsters ages 16 to 20.

President of Parliament Gracita Arrindell said she requested the cooperation of Justice Minister Dennis Richardson earlier this year to work on this programme.

"An important aspect of this formation programme is the cooperation of the Ministry of Justice, police, the Voluntary Corps St Read more

AVS First Live Political Debate Set For August 10.

>GREAT BAY:--- AVS Live Political Debates on the parliamentary elections will be held Sunday, August 10, August 17 And Sunday, August 24 At The Belair Community Center In Cay Hill.
The debates will be aired via Sxm Cable TV Channel 120 and WTN Cable TV Carib Channel 10 and Will Stream Live via Avsnewsonline.com TV Channel.
On Saturday, August 2, the leaders or an authorizing representative of the six political parties were invited to an informative session regarding the rules & regulations of the debate by the organizing committee who consist Of Clarence Richardson, Chairman, Edward Benjamin, Vice Chair, Terry Woods, Member, Florence Marlin, Member And Mireya Ostiana, Member Read more

President Arrindell Says Social Formation Program A Step Forward For Prevention Of Criminality

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – President of Parliament Hon. Gracita Arrindell is very pleased with the cooperation of the Ministry of Justice as it is working diligently preparing the draft ordinance regulating a Social Formation Program for young people between the ages of 16 and 20 years.

"Safety and security of our people and visitors is a critically important aspect of the quality of life of our island.

"Prevention of criminality under our young people is key in working towards this goal Read more

Avs First Live Political Debate Set For August 10

GREAT BAY, St. Maarten - AVS Live Political Debates on the parliamentary elections will be held Sunday, August 10, August 17 And Sunday, August 24 At The Belair Community Center In Cay Hill.

The debates will be aired via Sxm Cable TV Channel 120 and WTN Cable TV Carib Channel 10 and Will Stream Live via Avsnewsonline.com TV Channel.

On Saturday, August 2, the leaders or an authorizing representative of the six political parties were invited to an informative session regarding the rules & regulations of the debate by the organizing committee who consist Of Clarence Richardson, Chairman, Edward Benjamin, Vice Chair, Terry Woods, Member, Florence Marlin, Member and Mireya Ostiana, Member.

The session was held at The Yogesh Commercial Complex on A.J.C Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- President of Parliament Hon. Gracita Arrindell wishes the 80 students who left on Sunday for the Netherlands much success with their studies."I can recall the days when I left the island to continue with my studies. It is a positive experience. You will have challenges, but nothing that you can't overcome."It is also a difficult time for parents to say good bye to their sons and daughters, but at the same time, also exciting Read more

President Arrindell Wishes Students Much Success With Studies Overseas

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – President of Parliament Hon. Gracita Arrindell wishes the 80 students who left on Sunday for the Netherlands much success with their studies.

"I can recall the days when I left the island to continue with my studies. It is a positive experience. You will have challenges, but nothing that you can't overcome.

"It is also a difficult time for parents to say good bye to their sons and daughters, but at the same time, also exciting Read more