PHILIPSBURG--The National Alliance (NA) faction submitted the most letters with written questions among parliamentary factions during the 2025-2026 parliamentary year, with 50, while the Soualiga Action Movement (SAM) submitted none.
Democratic Party (DP) MP Sarah Wescot-Williams submitted the most letters individually, with 23, while DP MP Viren Kotai, SAM MP Franklin Meyers and Unified Resilient St. Maarten Movement (URSM) MP Christopher Wever submitted none, according to Parliament’s 2025-2026 Annual Report.
Members of Parliament have the right to submit written questions to ministers in accordance with Article 62 of the Constitution and the Rules of Order of Parliament. Written questions allow MPs to obtain information, raise matters of public concern and hold ministers accountable for government actions and policies.
The report states that the statistics reflect the number of written parliamentary letters submitted to ministers. Since one letter can contain one or more questions, the figures are an indicator of parliamentary oversight activity rather than a count of individual questions.
The report also notes that written questions can sometimes be submitted jointly by two or more MPs, while a single letter containing questions can also be addressed to more than one minister.
Among individual MPs, Wescot-Williams of the DP submitted 23 letters, the highest number recorded.
Egbert Doran of the NA submitted 18, followed by Francisco Lacroes of the UP with 17.
Sjamira Roseburg of the URSM submitted 12 letters, while Raeyhon Peterson of the PFP submitted 11.
Ardwell Irion of the NA and Omar Ottley of the UP each submitted seven letters. Lyndon Lewis of the NOW submitted six.
URSM and Darryl York of the NA each submitted three letters. Dimar Labega of the DP and Ludmila de Weever of the PFP each submitted one letter.
Kotai of the DP, Meyers of the SAM and Wever of the URSM each submitted no letters.
The individual-member figures total 129 letters. When grouped by parliamentary faction, the NA recorded the highest number with 50 letters.
The DP followed with 24, while the UPP recorded 23. The URSM recorded 15 letters, followed by the Nation Opportunity Wealth (NOW) with six and the Party for Progress (PFP) with two. SAM recorded none.
By ministry, the Minister of Justice received the highest number of letters with written questions, with 28. The Minister of General Affairs received 24 letters, followed by the Minister of Finance with 22. The Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication received 16 letters, while the Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport received 14. The Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure received 13 letters, while the Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labor received nine. The ministry figures total 126 letters.
The report’s three-year overview lists 71 letters submitted during the 2023-2024 parliamentary year, 77 during 2024-2025 and 114 during 2025-2026.
The report therefore presents 114 letters for 2025-2026 in its three-year overview, while the individual-member table lists 129, the faction table lists 120 and the ministry table lists 126.
Written questions are identified in the report as an important parliamentary oversight mechanism through which MPs obtain information, raise matters of public concern and hold ministers accountable for government actions and policies.
