All 8 political parties that applied for registration to participate in the upcoming Parliamentary elections, have been registered by the Electoral Council. These parties are now eligible to run in the parliamentary elections on August 29, 2014 and may postulate their list with candidates on July 11th, 2014. The Electoral Council also registered the requested references which are to be placed above the candidates list which will be submitted to the Central Voting Bureau on postulation day.
The 8 political parties and their respective references registered by the Electoral Council are: the United People Party (UP), Citizens for Positive Change (4 Positive Change), the Social Reform Party (SRP), the National Alliance (NA), the United St. Maarten Party (US Party), the Concordia Political Alliance (C.P.A.), the Democratic Party (DP) and the One St. Maarten People Party (O.S.P.P.).
In accordance with the National Ordinance on Registration and Finances of Political Parties, the Electoral Council has published its official decisions on the application of the registration of the political parties and the registration of the reference to be placed above the list of candidates in the National Gazette and in the local newspapers in both the Dutch and the English languages.
The National Ordinance on Registration and Finances of Political Parties also stipulates that the Electoral Council is required to publish the Articles of Association of all registered political parties in the National Gazette at the parties’ expense. In this respect, the Electoral Council is calling on all political parties that have not yet done so, to submit to the Electoral Council the original receipt of their payment for the publication of their Articles of Association in the National Gazette at their earliest convenience.
The Electoral Council will soon embark on an awareness campaign to provide information to the general public and in particular to the political parties and their candidates as well as to the business community regarding the receipt of donations and finances by political parties and candidates as laid down in the National Ordinance on Registration and Finances Political Parties and the consequences in case of non-compliance or violation of this Ordinance.
For more information, please contact the Electoral Council office, located on Back Street No. 145 B. Opening hours are on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 13:30 to 17:30 and on Thursdays and Fridays from 9:00 to 13:00. Telephone: 543-9888/9889; fax: 543-9887; email: in**@ec***.org.