WILLEMSTAD–To a certain extent the results from October last year were confirmed in Curaçao’s snap elections on Friday. Political observers say that while former Prime Minister Hensley Koeiman’s MAN came in second this time, PAR’s win means the two parties together have a minimal majority of 11 seats in the 21-seat majority in Parliament and are likely to form the next Government. The impression is that voters rejected the attempt by the current coalition headed by MFK-leader Gerrit Schotte to cancel the early elections called by the outgoing Koeiman Cabinet. “Curaçao voted strategically, both on the side of MFK/KdNT and of MAN/PAR,” said one analyst.
It turned out well for the parties that had made integrity and good governance an important issue during the campaign. They received nearly 10,000 votes more together with newcomer PIN of former Minister of Traffic, Transportation and Spatial Planning for PNP Suzanne Camelia-Römer. The so-called “group of 12” now governing the country will be reduced to a minority of nine, although MFK did receive 3,000 more votes compared to the elections of October 2016. One reason may be the joining of former MAN-minister Charles Cooper, who had come close to earning a seat with his then new party PAS last year and chose to go on the MFK candidate list at number two on this occasion. Several experts think some MFK votes also came for its allies KdNT and PS, which dropped from three to two seats and two to one respectively.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/65595-vote-was-strategic
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