PHILIPSBURG–Although thirteen political parties are registered with the Electoral Council, so far only ten will appear on the ballot for the September 26 Parliamentary Elections. This comes as several parties have publically indicated they will contest the snap elections jointly. The Electoral Council announced on Thursday, the inscribing of the 13 political parties. The Council noted that some parties have publicly stated they may join another party, but none have officially informed the Council “of such nor have they submitted a request to unregister their parties.”
The registered political parties and their respective references to be above the ballot are: United People’s (UP) party, Social Reform Party (SRP), National Alliance (NA), United St. Maarten party (USp), Concordia Political Alliance (CPA), Democratic Party (DP), One St. Maarten People Party (OSPP), St. Maarten Development Movement (SDM), Millennial Advancement Party (MAP), St. Maarten Christian Party (SMCP), Helping Our People Excel (HOPE) Association, Beyond St. Maarten Development (Beyond SXM) and People’s Progressive Alliance (PPA).
All 13 parties can submit a slate of candidates on Nomination Day, August 8, to the Central Voting Bureau. Those parties without a seat in the current Parliament will need to have their slates endorsed by registered voters on August 9. SMCP led by retired pastor Wycliffe Smith, and MAP led by Peter Gittens, have announced they will contest the elections together and have announced several candidates. Also pooling together are HOPE of former radio personality Mercedes van der Waal-Wyatt, SRP of Jacinto Mock and Beyond SXM of Loekie Morales. All parties other than UP, NA, US party and DP will have to get their list endorsed by registered voters. Those four parties all have seats in the present Parliament.
Source: Daily Herald
13 parties registered, only 10 to be on ballot
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