Spirit of the law
Curaçao’s Government is contemplating the unusual move of requesting intervention by the Kingdom Council of Ministers based on its duty to safeguard proper governance in the Dutch Caribbean country. The opposition has been boycotting meetings to examine the credentials of prospective PAR-faction member Emmilou Capriles, leaving the PAR/MAN coalition with just 10 of the 20 remaining seats in the 21-seat house, short of a majority.
It normally regards just a technicality because the seat has been awarded to her by the Supreme Electoral Council as next in line based on the party’s 2017 election candidate list. She is thus being deprived of using her democratically-earned passive voting right, argued Prime Minister Eugene Rhuggenaath.
Moreover, the legislature is paralysed and while his cabinet formally still has the support of 11 seats, it cannot muster such before Capriles is able occupy hers. Because of this impasse, important draft bills – among others, related to much-needed COVID-19 liquidity support from the Netherlands – risk being left unattended, with all possible consequences for the island’s already-hard-hit population.
It seems clear that the quorum requirement set for meetings did not consider the situation where a seat becomes vacant and must then be filled. It is also not customary to make the admittance of duly-elected representatives a political issue, yet that is exactly what has been happening in Willemstad.
These practices seemingly stretch the meaning of existing rules and regulations to the ultimate detriment of society, just like so-called “ship-jumpers” who help prompt motions of no-confidence against governments for no good apparent reasons, only for the latter to turn around and send the legislature home by calling early elections. It is simply not in keeping with the spirit of the law.
