Sint Maarten: Parliament, 26 February 2018

At stake in this election:  

• The 15 seats in the Sint Maarten parliament

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: King Willem-ALEXANDER (since 30 April 2013)
• Queen’s Representative: Governor General Eugene HOLIDAY (since 10 October 2010)
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Sarah WESTCOTT-WILLIAMS (since 10 October 2010)
• Assembly: Sint Maarten has a unicameral Parliament

Description of electoral system:

• The King’s Representative (Governor General) is appointed by the monarch to serve a six-year term
• The Prime Minister, after legislative elections, is usually the leader of the majority party (or coalition) and elected by the legislature
• In the Parliament, the 15 members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms

Election Note:

• The election is scheduled for 29 August 2014. The government’s term ends October 9, 2014.

Political entities in this electoral race:

• National Alliance (NA)
  • Leader: Silveria JACOBS
  • Seats won in last Assembly elections: 4
• St. Maarten Development Movement (SDM)
  • Leader: Benjamin ORTEGA
  • Seats won in last Assembly elections: N/A
• United Democrats (UD)
  • Leader: Theo HEYLIGER
  • Seats won in last Assembly elections: N/A
• People's Progressive Alliance (PPA)
  • Leader: Gracita ARRINDELL
  • Seats won in last Assembly elections: N/A
• United St. Maarten Party (US Party)
  • Leader: Frans RICHARDSON (US)
  • Seats won in last Assembly elections: 2
• St. Maarten's Christian Party (SMCP)
  • Leader: Wycliffe SMITH (OSPP)
  • Seats won in last Assembly elections: 0

Last election:

• The last election to the parliament in Sint Maarten was held on 29 August 2014. The Democratic Party (DP) won 16.54% of the vote (2 seats in parliament) and the United People’s Party (UPP) won 42.46% (7 seats in parliament) and formed a governing coalition.  The National Alliance (NA) won 27.66% of the vote (4 seats), and the United Sint Maarten Party received 11.28% (2 seats).

Population and Voter Registration:

• Population: 37,224 (July 2014 est)
• Registered Voters: 21,475 

Gender Data:

·         Is Sint Maarten a signatory to CEDAW: N/A

·         Has Sint Maarten ratified CEDAW: N/A

·         Gender Quota: N/A

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 3 

·         Human Development Index Position: N/A

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: N/A

Disability Data:

·         Is Sint Maarten a signatory to CRPD: N/A

·         Has Sint Maarten ratified CRPD: N/A

·         Population with a disability: 5,583 (est.)