From left: PFP members Charlon Pompier, Patrice Gumbs Jr., Melissa Gumbs (president and party leader), Marvio Cooks, Raeyhon Peterson, and Kevin “Suppa” Petrona.
~ Will contest next election if allowed ~
PHILIPSBURG--St. Maarten’s political landscape has a new player, as Party for Progress (PFP) hosted its launch event at University of St. Martin (USM) on Friday evening. The party said it plans to contest St. Maarten’s next Parliamentary election, but that this “is not its main goal.”
“Why now?” asked PFP president and party leader Melissa Gumbs to a full crowd that packed themselves into one of USM’s lecture rooms.
“Looking back at the nine years that have passed since that fateful day [October 10, 2010 – Ed.], we see what has taken root in the fabric of our society. Rumours that populate a void in which meaningful conversation does not exist and where we suffer a deficit in leadership driven by ego and personal agenda.
“… Our focus was, and will continue to be, to fill this void,” said Gumbs.
PFP’s launch focussed on transparency and honest dialogue. According to Gumbs, knowledge creates an informed voting population that has the potential to “break the cycle of the current status quo.”
“We believe that through honest, focused and dynamic community engagement, we can empower not just one another, but also our peers to blossom into the leadership that St. Maarten needs and deserves – leadership that has shrugged off the agendas of the past,” said Gumbs.
The decision to launch PFP was not made with elections in mind. According to Gumbs, the party planned to focus on community and educational initiatives until the originally-projected election year of 2022. Some of these initiatives included hosting lectures and workshops that would seek to inform and engage with “all sectors of the community.”
After caretaker Prime Minister Leona Romeo-Marlin announced the invoking of Article 59 on Monday, the party decided to accelerate its timeframe and contest the proposed November 25 election “to offer a new option to voters.”
However, these plans were derailed by the St. Maarten Central Voting Bureau’s letter on Wednesday, which said only existing political parties can contest the coming election.
“We were more than a little stunned to learn that Nomination Day was on Wednesday, October 2,” said Gumbs. As a new party, PFP has been excluded from the coming election, according to the letter.
After learning that two other new parties were similarly barred, PFP sent a letter to Romeo-Marlin on Wednesday that objected to its exclusion as an infringement of its members’ democratic rights.
PFP also sent a letter to King Willem-Alexander on Friday “regarding the issue of the protection to our right to free elections,” said Gumbs.
“Our mission to engage and inform will remain unchanged, and will we not fade. … We still continue, whether or not we are allowed to contest,” she said.
A question-and-answer session was opened to the audience after Gumbs’ speech. Several persons asked party members about their plans for transparency and how the party intends to be different from St. Maarten’s existing political parties.
After the question-and-answer session, refreshments were served, and party members mingled with persons who attended the launch.
According to PFP’s pamphlet, the party’s principles include prioritising education; harmonising relationships with the French side of the island; creating an equitable, just and safe society; promoting and protecting the social, economic, cultural and general well-being of all St. Maarten residents; protecting at-risk individuals from discrimination; and achieving foreign investment in a way that does not diminish the opportunities and protections for everyone in St. Maarten.
