Following early complaints by Party for Progress (PFP) regarding political billboards in prohibited places such as too close to roundabouts or otherwise obstructing traffic, United People’s (UP) party apparently moved a series of signs erected in a curve of A.J.C. Brouwer Road to Cay Hill.
To be fair, they had been allowed there in past elections, but public concern was expressed about reduced visibility this time around.
Now United St. Maarten Party (US Party) says National Alliance (NA) placed a billboard in front of theirs (see related story) at Cole Bay. A photo indeed shows that for an approaching motorist the latter would be obscured by the former.
However, that’s not necessarily the case standing directly before them, so the argument could be made that they are technically next to each other and not one behind the other. It thus depends which angle one is looking from.
On the other hand, the intention was obviously to see them in passing, which has become difficult this way. NA has reportedly offered only to move US Party’s sign, supposedly because its own is too heavy and would require a crane.
An update on applicable rules by the Ministry of General Affairs and Central Voting Bureau in the newspaper of Nomination Day, November 22, stated that “political campaign material must not be placed on top of political campaign material from another political party.” This may be interpreted different ways, so ultimately it comes down to what is considered reasonable.
Hopefully the current dispute can still be resolved amicably. After all, St. Maarten has seen many elections with much more intense and grander campaigns, including the use of mega-signs, stacked containers, aircraft-pulled banners and hot-air balloons.
Besides, there are more important matters to discuss, such as platforms issued by seven of the eight parties on the ballot and published in The Daily Herald to assist voters in choosing based on prior knowledge. In other words, let’s at least try and make it about content rather than form.
