Disclaimer: This is a comprehensive piece that will analyze all participants in the 2024 Parliamentary Elections that were held in Sint Maarten on the 11th of January 2024. It aims to give a broad outlook on how things turned out. However, I am not privy to any personal bias, as I was involved in the campaign proceedings during the season. This might be unintentionally reflected in the tone of the piece.
Introduction
On January 11th, 2024, the people of Sint Maarten went to the polls to vote in the first General Parliamentary Elections since 2014 (all previous elections were snap elections). With a 66% turnout, the people decided who they believed were qualified and deserving of the fifteen seats to make up the Parliament of Sint Maarten. Described as an extremely important election by many, this piece will look at how the campaign season went, the election results, what's next for country Sint Maarten, and a general analysis of the entire process.
Campaign Season
If you had any passing conversation with persons who follow elections on Sint Maarten, they would've told you some variation of this sentence: "This is the strangest election season ever." They were not wrong. Despite this being my second time voting, I've been around politics and elections long enough to know that what happened since postulation in November 2023 up until election day was different. Persons believed that the post-Irma and post-Covid campaign season would just bring back the old-school campaigning styles of big rallies and flashy merch and that it would be a reflection of the past with new faces. However, the last four years have brought a level of hostility in the political arena that many haven't seen before. Yes, we had the big rallies, but we also had parties and candidates that pushed for smaller, intimate settings to push their messages across. There was a desperate need across all eight parties to come across as relatable. But how can one be relatable, convince you that they're the right and qualified choice, and also convince you that voting is important, while all appearing to be "cool"? Well, that is a delicate balance that many struggle with. In competition in who could campaign the best, it allowed for the arena to get vile and nasty, as many turned to personal attacks and serious "mudslinging" to try to convince the populace why they were better. Supporters (whether bought or not) also felt the need to 'defend' their candidates, in instances where it turned rowdy and/or violent. There was also a lot of destruction of property, where posters were torn, marked, or simply pulled down. This made a lot of people uncomfortable, as many were worried about their general safety.
The responsibility for how the campaign season panned out did not solely rely on the hands of the parties and their supporters, but also on the hands of the media. In Sint Maarten, one of the best ways to reach out to the people is by going on various radio programs. This election season solidified that we have a journalist problem. While many interviews either went viral or gained a lot of attention, the radio hosts allowed the tense environments to thrive -whether intentionally or not. This came from their questioning and lack of control. This allowed many candidates ( or those campaigning for them) to go on long-winded tangents and opportunities to target specific political opponents. While it is entertaining for people to be able to go back and forth when it is the overall basis of the interview, it means that the hosts aren't doing their job - to gather information and insight. In an era where people are advocating for a more educated and informed electorate, it is the responsibility of every person who sits down in front of a microphone and introduces a political guest to come prepared and engaged to get as much important information and question their stances so the public can make their own educated decision.
Elections Results
The following is a quick breakdown of the election results. Official results are found on the Sint Maarten Government website.
Party Name: Nation Opportunity Wealth
Total Votes: 1481
Total Seats: 2
Seat Holders: Christophe Emmanuel, Kevin Maingrette
Reflection: This election was a make-or-break for Christophe Emmanuel. In 2020, he ran with the National Alliance and had a successful campaign with 687 votes. However, after the formation of the government, he declared independence after the party went in a direction he didn't align with. Since then, Emmanuel has spent the last four years being hyper-critical of the government and their decisions. Launching a new party - Nation Opportunity Wealth - Chris had to prove to his political dissenters that he (1) could form an adequate party, with people who could gain support and run a government and (2) he still had a strong support base. The results show that he achieved number 2, with 453 votes, the support was less than last election, but still strong enough to gain him a seat. One would argue, with the postulation of Nigel Wiggley's Empire Culture Empowerment, that Chris lost some votes. Unfortunately for Emmanuel, his overall party was seen as weak, as his number-two candidate, suspended MP Claudius Buncamper, did not get the support they assumed would've received from his campaign that focused on his ongoing case, the lack of support for the young candidate Kelron Bellot, and the overall choice of other candidates. Luckily, his number 4 and 5, Kevin Maingrette, and Lyndon Lewis, did particularly well, pulling in the influence of working for the Ministry of TEATT. Despite the added drama that surrounded these two candidates (which will be addressed later down), this worked out positively for Emmanuel. The task now is to prove that he and Maingrette are capable of good governance and that they can grow and improve the NOW party.
Party Name: Empire Culture Empowerment Association
Total Votes: 292
Total Seats: 0
Seat Holders: n/a
Reflection: One-man parties are not a new phenomenon. However, what Nigel Wigley did this election can paint a picture of the current climate in the country. As a pro-people, anti-corruption front based on the values of the Hebrew Israelites, Wigley's campaign gained the attention (whether good or bad) of many and allowed him to get enough signatures to contest in the elections. His postulation was seen as more of a "Sint Maarten people like nonsense nuh" and many people wrote off that he was going to even break 100 votes. I disagreed. There is a strong subset of people that would've voted for him because they believe his message, a subsect that would've used him as a protest vote, and then the few that did it just for the jokes. This got him 292 votes, more than the leader and sitting MP Rolando Brison. While it might seem like a disappointment to people that he got that many votes, those 292 votes have empowered him to continue to be a staunch community activist, even if his beliefs are contradictory. Do not be surprised if we see more "Nigel Wigley" types become more vocal within the next four years.
Party Name: United People Party
Total Votes: 2814
Total Seats: 3
Seat Holders: Omar Ottley, Akeem Arrindell, Francisco Lacroes
Reflection: With the second highest amount of votes received in the election, on paper, the United People Party could claim that they survived a tremulous campaign and rebrand period. After the departure of Grisha Heyliger-Marten (by proxy her husband and party founder Theodore Heyliger), the party had to quickly search for a new identity. Rolando Brison as the party leader and Minister of VSA (or everything as he likes to put it) Omar Ottley as deputy, campaigned as go-getters and persons who do the work. While it worked out for the Carnival Baby artist, him being the highest vote-getter with 774 votes, it did not work out for Brison whose 254 votes were a reflection of the last four years and the issues he faced in parliament. The results also prompted his resignation as party leader, citing his focus on himself and doing what's better for the people of Sint Maarten. This leaves Ottley as the leader of a party that still hasn't found a proper identity. It doesn't help that the actions of his supporters (and himself) during the campaign season have many questioning the type of person he is. He is now going to sit in the opposition, being vocal as always, leading Francisco Lacroes and Akeem Arrindell. While this is Lacroes first time in such a front-facing role, there is a more lingering question surrounding Arrindell. Is he going to show up to work this time, especially since he is not a coalition member?
Party Name: Party for Progress
Total Votes: 1717
Total Seats: 2
Seat Holders: Ludmila de Weever, Melissa Gumbs
Reflection: After spending four years sitting in opposition, the Party for Progress proudly declared that they were gunning for government. While they are a part of the current coalition talks, the results from this election can serve as a climate analysis of how people feel in the country. Ludmila de Weever, a newcomer to the party, was the highest vote-getter with 569 votes. With getting almost 302 more votes than when she ran last election on UPP, the people informed her that she is now on a platform that they believe is conducive to an environment in which she could thrive. On the other hand, the party leader Melissa Gumbs lost some votes, but still retained a good bit to get. the second seat. The question is why? Well, many have painted her and the party as the Gay party and/or the Dutch party. With growing anti-gay (or less tolerance) and anti-dutch tolerance, people have decided that the way the PFP faction functioned in parliament, was not in their best social and cultural interest. With the PFP now in government, it is going to be interesting to see how the population reacts to what many deem as very "radical" stances.
Party Name: United Sint Maarten Party
Total Votes: 686
Total Seats: 0
Seat Holders: n/a
Reflection: Disastrous. That's the only word that could describe the campaign of the Pamela Gordan-led United Sint Maarten Party. It was evident during the season that there was a lack of social and monetary support. They simply struggled to find their footing and make a big splash in the elections. The results were deemed to be embarrassing, and the party founder Frans Richardson put out a notice that the party members must resign by the time he returned from the US where he was on a medical visit. However, the next day, the prosecutors put out a verdict on the appeal to his bribery case, extending his jail time to 19 months and his ban from running to five years. What does this mean for the future of the United Sint Maarten Party? If they are still a unit, they have the next four years to restrategize, rebrand, and figure out their identity, their base, and hopefully an adequate governing accord. However, I wouldn't be surprised if USP does not exist by the next elections.
Party Name: Unified Resilient Sint Maarten Movement
Total Votes: 2028
Total Seats: 2
Seat Holders: Luc Mercelina, Sjamira Roseburg
Reflection: Luc Mercelina announced that his party would be the change that Sint Maarten needs and the 2028 party votes showed that many of the voters believed that as well. As the second-highest vote-getter, Luc can be classified as the real winner of this year's election. Coming back to the political scene after resigning from UPP, Luc's campaign focused on how they could save the country. Now, it is the task of him and newcomer Sjamira Roseburg to deal with that as they also form the new coalition.
Party Name: National Alliance
Total Votes: 3455
Total Seats: 4
Seat Holders: Egbert Jurendy Doran, Silveria Jacobs, Adrwell Irion, Cloyd Marlin
Reflection: National Alliance was going to be the highest vote-getters in this election. There was no doubt about that. The love and support for the Alliance will always be present. However, they fail to captivate the support of their non-loyalist, thus only ending up with four seats this time around. Now as members of the opposition, it would be interesting to see the approach that the three ministers take when it comes to critiquing and holding the new government and coalition accountable. There is a lot of hostility and resentment in the air after these last four years and I hope that they use it for good and not for malicious intent. This would also be the first time in more than three decades that William Marlin will not be in active politics. However, his protegee and son, Cloyd is seen as the person to continue his work. It would be fascinating to see how he handles the bright lights that are in parliament and how he handles himself as a member of what can be a strong opposition.
Party Name: Democratic Party
Total Votes: 1970
Total Seats: 2
Seat Holders: Sarah Wescot- Williams, Grisha Heyliger-Marten
Reflection: Sarah Wescot Williams has once again proven that her people would come out in numbers to support her. Doing way better this election versus 2020 (353 in 2020 vs 498 in 2024), claiming two crucial seats for the Democratic Party puts them in a new coalition agreement where she has one more (maybe last) shot at governance. Grisha, not doing as well at last time, still secured her seat as her 'Come Home' campaign proved some success. The question is will she be able to continue to keep up with the hecticness of being a Member of Parliament while balancing the happenings in her personal life, as her husband, former Member of Parliament Theodore Heyliger has started serving his five year prison sentence this month.
General Analysis
This election taught us a couple of lessons.
The general public needs to be informed about the political happenings in the country all the time and not year-round. I remember as a teen, I used to tell everyone that they should pay attention to politics. My peers and adults alike would wave me off because to them politics was this thing that only impacted a small section of people. 2024 showed us differently. Many persons are now realizing how the system has an impact and were struggling to understand what was happening, who to vote for, or where to even start when thinking about participating in the electoral process. This is a problem.
There is a desperate need for wide electoral reform. While the curtain was brought down thanks to an initiative by the Party for Progress Faction, there were still many issues that made the voting process difficult. From the cleaning of records, which accidentally deregistered many people from the census to extreme tactics to achieve vote buying, there were too many factors that would have influenced this election.
Our media needs to reflect on how they deal with and cover politics (amongst other things). As mentioned in the earlier part of this piece, the way the media - especially radio personalities - handled this election season had an impact on how information was disseminated and received. If our media do not take the initiative to be better in how they produce the stories for the nation, we will continue to have a populace that focuses more on virality than facts.
Debates. The one official debate that was held this election season by the Sint Maarten Institute of Policy Studies was subpar and did not allow for the party leaders to truly discuss their platforms. The lack of opportunities for the other candidates to showcase their debating skills on a public platform was a missed opportunity.
Other key takeaways
The Future of the 'Indian Vote'
It is known that most of the Indian Community would pull most of their votes around one candidate. For the last decade, many of the votes went behind Siddarth. "Cookie" Bijlani (UPP). This election however, Cookie lost 59 votes, but the younger candidate, Viren Kotai (DP), jumped from 99 votes in 2020 to 249 votes in 2024. This presents an interesting trend as the community support might shift to a younger Kotai.
A Grifters Paradise
Politics is a breeding ground for all types of sneaky people, especially grifters. The main character for this election season was not one of the 124 candidates, but a man named Olivier Arundel. Describing himself as a businessman and a revolutionary, the Colebay man of Haitian descent became a regular on everyone's WhatsApp whether you liked it or not. Starting as being a critic of the government, his commentary went into a series of homophobic rants, doxxing, and other forms of loud messages that would spread like a wildfire. During this time he also found himself being a political advisor of Kevin Maingrette, influencing him to switch political parties which we all know for his interests. The reason why I brought up Mr. Arrindell is for us to understand the dangers of these people within our electoral system. These people would capitalize on the vulnerability and the emotions of the people to get close to these high positions and do the same actions that they would criticize. I urge everyone when they hear these folks to not just nod and agree and ask questions. I have questions. Why are you so close to the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a government that is pushing for the genocide of its people?
Final Tips
Be more aware and involved
Read your local, regional, and international news
Hold your elected officials accountable
Conclusion
This was a wild election season. Be diligent, be aware, and new members of parliament will be sworn in on February 10th.