SINT MAARTEN (GREAT BAY - POLITICS & GOVERNANCE) - When Parliament of Sint Maarten published its Annual Report for the 2025–2026 Parliamentary Year, buried inside the statistics section it reported that 93 total meetings were held, compared to 124 the previous year. It represents 31 fewer meetings, a 25 percent drop in parliamentary output by the most basic measure available.
The 93 meetings are distributed across five categories: Public Meetings (including solemn and urgent), Central Committee meetings, Permanent Committee meetings, Ad Hoc Committee meetings, and Faction Leaders meetings.
Two solemn public meetings and twenty-three regular public meetings were recorded in the year's tally — along with 23 Central Committee sessions.
What the report does not provide is a reason. No section addresses why meetings declined so sharply.
The foreword by Parliament President Sarah A. Wescot-Williams acknowledges that the Secretariat was under "considerable strain" from staff shortages caused by "turnover, retirement, and maternity leave" — but she attributes that strain to workload, not reduced activity.
