Latest information about the formation process

Cabinet of Ministers sworn in

The Cabinet Ministers of the Sint Maarten United Christian Coalition is sworn in by Governor Eugene Holiday.

Final report formateur Heyliger

Today formateur Theo Heyliger handed in his final report to Governor Eugene Holiday. Together with the report, the formateur officially signed and submitted the governing program for his new government along with his coalition partner and leader of the St. Maarten Christian Party (SMCP) Wycliffe Smith.

(l) Wycliffe Smith - SMCP, (r) formateur Theo Heyliger

Names Cabinet members announced

The names and the positions of the candidate ministers for the Sint Maarten United Christian Democratic coalition are known. This coalition consists of 8 seats out of a total of 15 parliamentiary seats. The Sint Maarten United Christian Democratic coalition will be represented by Sint Maarten Christian Party (SMCP) with 1 seat and United Democratic Party (UD) with 7 seats.

Screening process completed

The screening process of the candidate ministers has been completed by Veiligheidsdienst Sint Maarten and the Public Prosecutor’s Office. The next step for formateur Theodore Heyliger is to submit his final report to the Governor together with the Governing Program 2018 – 2022.

Alignment NRRP

Session with the Interim National Recovery Bureau, coalition partners and incoming ministers to assure continuity by aligning the National Recovery & Resilience Plan with the governing program (and vice versa)

Request additional information

Additional information requested by the Public Prosecutor for the screening process is submitted. New this year is the submitance of an authorization letter by each candidate minister to the Public Prosecutor to execute the screening. Previous years this was done via a letter from the formateur.

Follow-up screening process

Missing documents needed for the screening process are submitted to Governor Eugene Holiday.

Start screening process

Documents required by the Veiligheidsdienst Sint Maarten and the Public Prosecutor’s Office from candidate ministers for the screening process are submitted via the governor.

Start Governing Program

The coalition parties start writing the governing program stipulating their vision and the most important goals and objectives of the incoming cabinet.

Coalition agreement

38 days after the general elections, a coalition is formed between the United Democratic Party and the Sint Maarten Christian Party.

Formation meetings

Progress report: The formateur meets with various stakeholders in the (semi) public and private sector to explore developments in their field.

Formateur appointed

Governor Eugene Holiday appoints the United Democratic Party Mr. Theo Heyliger as formateur and entrusts him with the formation of a new government. The governor requests that the formateur use the report of the informateurs as the basis for the continuation of the formation process.

Consultation Governor

The United Democratic Party, the National Alliance, the United St. Maarten Peoples Party and the Sint Maarten Christian Party meet with Governor Eugene Holiday for a consultation about the advice given by the informateurs.

Informateurs report

Informateurs Mrs. Dr. Nilda Arduin and Mr. Jan Beaujon present their report to Governor Eugene Holiday.

Informateurs appointed

Following meetings seeking advice, Governor Eugene Holiday appoints Mrs. Dr. Nilda Arduin and Mr. Jan Beaujon as informateurs. They are tasked with researching the possibilities for the formation of a new government that is supported by the broadest possible majority in Parliament.

First consultation

Leaders of all political parties that obtained seats in Parliament following the February 26, 2018 elections, consult with Governor Eugene Holiday. Holiday also meets with the chairperson of Parliament, the vice chairperson of the Council of Advice and the chairperson of the Cental Voting Bureau. The outcome of the elections and the consequences for the new formation process are discussed.

Elections

General Election is held to elect the 15 members of Parliament.