~ No decision yet on registration of 2 new parties ~
PHILIPSBURG–It appears as though nine political parties are so far eligible to contest the January 9, 2020, snap parliamentary election, and the Electoral Council is still to decide on the applications for registration of two new parties.
The references of three parties – St. Maarten Democratic Party, United People’s Party Association and The Concordia Political Alliance Association – have been registered or re-registered with the Electoral Council, and the parties will be able to contest the January 9 snap election.
Six parties were already registered with the Electoral Council: National Alliance (NA), United St. Maarten Party (US Party); St. Maarten Christian Party (SMCP), People’s Progressive Alliance Association (PPA); St. Maarten Development Movement (SDM) and United Democrats (UD), which is not expected to contest.
Of the list of eligible parties, US Party has signalled its clear intention to contest the election and released the name of the candidate who will lead the party as the #1 candidate on its slate for the polls. Several of the other parties have been approached for information and have indicated they will get back to The Daily Herald at a later date.
Electoral Council Chairperson Bert Hofman told this newspaper over the weekend that the references of three existing political parties have been registered or re-registered. This was published in the National Gazette of Friday, October 25.
Hofman said the Electoral Council has not yet decided on the registration of new political parties that requested registration. One of those political parties is the Party For Progress (PFP). The other new party is one believed to be associated with independent Member of Parliament (MP) Franklin Meyers.
According to the Electoral Council’s publication in the National Gazette of October 25, the Council has accepted the applications for the political parties Concordia Political Alliance Association, and United People’s Party Association for re-registration of the reference CPA and UP, respectively, as the reference that shall be placed above the list of candidates to be submitted by the respective political parties and shall be registered in the register of references as referred to in Article 14 of the National Ordinance on the Registration and Finances of Political Parties.
Also accepted was St. Maarten Democratic Party’s request for the registration of DPSXMovement as the reference that shall be placed above the list of candidates to be submitted by the party.
The Electoral Council had said in a press statement on September 25 that eligible to participate in nomination day at that time were UD, NA, US Party, SMCP, PPA and SDM.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/92024-nine-parties-so-far-eligible-to-contest-jan-9-election
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