Indications are that an interim cabinet backed by the recently-formed “Great Eight” majority will be installed until a new Parliament takes office three months from now, following snap elections on July 18. Governor Ajamu Baly ratified the meanwhile-resigned Mercelina I Cabinet’s national decree to dissolve the legislature for an early return to the polls, but also announced consultations on forming a new government after receiving a governing accord from the recently-established NA/UP/Maingrette coalition.
The latter was already questioned (see related story) by United Resilient St. Maarten Movement (USRM) of caretaker Prime Minister and ex-“formateur” Luc Mercelina. The party’s board wonders whether the same “meticulous standards and procedures” applied during the last formation process, including – first – appointing an “informateur” will be upheld.
They asked whether the intention might be to call off the election. While going to that extreme would likely be condemned in the so-called court of public opinion, their concern is not entirely unjustified.
Let’s face it, snap elections have been postponed under similar circumstances in the past, be it not for very long. Once proclaimed they should be held short-term and anything else is, at the least, ill-advised from a legal point of view.
Mention was also made of the extra cost for an interim cabinet, but its members are simply to replace the current ones, so there should in principle be no major added expenses. Obtaining a minister’s pension, for example, requires being in function for an extended period.
Besides, an early vote takes money too, Mercelina himself acknowledged. As often said in many contexts: Democracy isn’t free.
