MARIGOT--United St. Maarten Party (US Party) leader and Member of Parliament (MP) Frans Richardson calls on all political parties to firmly agree on not forming governments with independent MPs.
Speaking on SOS Radio 95.9FM on Friday, Richardson announced that US Party will not be forming a government with independent MPs who jump ship to form a government. According to him, these actions are what keep the country from moving forward and, as such, ship-jumping should be curbed from a party’s standpoint.
He also denounced any party that would “allow this sort of stagnation to continue.”
“I would prefer to keep the party in opposition than to be a part of this sort of foolishness any longer,” said Richardson. “Seats earned in parliament rightfully belong to a party, as the people aligned themselves with the party’s ideologies when placing their votes – not individual characters. The US Party agreed to move the country forward, and this is the basis of the party’s manifesto for the next four years.”
Richardson said that promoting unity is what US Party stands for, citing the current interim government as an example. However, in a press release on Friday Richardson did not address the fact that the current interim government was formed with the support of three independent MPs in Parliament.
He said the current government is governing the country in a unified manner, with ministries being managed across party lines. “We have a TEATT [Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication – Ed.] Minister posted by the US Party with the staff posted by the NA [National Alliance], similarly we have a VSA [Public Health, Social Development and Labour] Minister posted by the US Party with staff of the NA,” confirmed Richardson.
He concluded by saying decisions to move the country forward should be made with the support of the coalition across the board, keeping the best interest of the people at heart.
