TWO NEW FACES JOIN SOME FAMILIAR ONES AS NEW ISLAND COUNCIL IS SWORN IN
~ Members to take oath of office on Wednesday 29 March, one day after current council holds final sitting~
ORANJESTAD, St. Eustatius (28 March 2023) – There will be three familiar faces and two new ones when members of the new Island Council take the oath of office on Wednesday 29 March 2023. The Progressive Labor Party ( PLP) retained control of the local legislature by securing over 55 per cent of the 1759 votes cast in the 15 March 2023 Island Council election. This translates into three seats in the five-member legislature.
When the new council sits for the first time tomorrow (Wednesday), the PLP will be represented by Rechelline Leerdam, Reuben Merkman and Clyde van Putten, all of whom sat in the outgoing Island Council. The Democratic Party (DP), which secured about 38 per cent of the votes cast in the election, hold the remaining two seats. The DP will be represented by newcomers Rachel Spanner-Carty and Mercedes Lopes-Spanner. The term of office of the new Island Council is four years and will end in 2027.
Wednesday’s swearing in follows the final meeting of the current chamber, which was installed on 29 October 2020 – the first to sit in since the administrative intervention by Netherlands in 2018. The final sitting on Tuesday 28 March was the last for Adelka Spanner of the DP and Nicolaas Sneek of the Christian Democratic Appeal, which failed to garner sufficient votes in the election to gain a seat.
The outgoing council can point to a number of achievements, including engaging in the mediation process with the Netherlands – along with the Government Commissioners - on the Restoration Act and restoration of full democracy. Council members made several trips to the Netherlands where they met with State Secretary Alexandra Van Huffelen and the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations on the issue. They also represented Statia at the Inter Expo Caribbean in the Netherlands and at meetings of the Association of Netherlands Municipalities.
Locally, they visited several agencies and projects, including the EJL Services waste plant, the harbour and fishing reserves, the newly renovated homes in Golden Rock and the former Golden Rock Plantation Century burial ground.
Today also signalled the end of the term of the last Electoral College, which held its final meeting this morning. The newly elected members will be sworn in at 10:00a.m. tomorrow (Wednesday 29 March). The swearing in of the new Island Council members begins at 2:00p.m. Both meetings will be held at the Lions Den and are open to the public.
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When the new council sits for the first time tomorrow (Wednesday), the PLP will be represented by Rechelline Leerdam, Reuben Merkman and Clyde van Putten, all of whom sat in the outgoing Island Council. The Democratic Party (DP), which secured about 38 per cent of the votes cast in the election, hold the remaining two seats. The DP will be represented by newcomers Rachel Spanner-Carty and Mercedes Lopes-Spanner. The term of office of the new Island Council is four years and will end in 2027.
Wednesday’s swearing in follows the final meeting of the current chamber, which was installed on 29 October 2020 – the first to sit in since the administrative intervention by Netherlands in 2018. The final sitting on Tuesday 28 March was the last for Adelka Spanner of the DP and Nicolaas Sneek of the Christian Democratic Appeal, which failed to garner sufficient votes in the election to gain a seat.
The outgoing council can point to a number of achievements, including engaging in the mediation process with the Netherlands – along with the Government Commissioners - on the Restoration Act and restoration of full democracy. Council members made several trips to the Netherlands where they met with State Secretary Alexandra Van Huffelen and the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations on the issue. They also represented Statia at the Inter Expo Caribbean in the Netherlands and at meetings of the Association of Netherlands Municipalities.
Locally, they visited several agencies and projects, including the EJL Services waste plant, the harbour and fishing reserves, the newly renovated homes in Golden Rock and the former Golden Rock Plantation Century burial ground.
Today also signalled the end of the term of the last Electoral College, which held its final meeting this morning. The newly elected members will be sworn in at 10:00a.m. tomorrow (Wednesday 29 March). The swearing in of the new Island Council members begins at 2:00p.m. Both meetings will be held at the Lions Den and are open to the public.