Democratic Party Leader Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams, joined by the President of the DP Board Hasani Ellis and Michael Ferrier, submitted the registration of the Party at the Electoral Council Offices on Back Street. During the brief meeting all of the necessary paperwork was submitted for the request for registration and the confirmation was received that all necessary forms were in order. The Electoral Committee will now review the articles of incorporation to ensure that these include all the requirements established by law.
Prime Minister Wescot-Williams commented that with the installation of the new young and dynamic Democratic Party board all of the members have been updated on all items related to the upcoming elections; “The DP, whose legal status as an association goes back to 1994, has overhauled its articles of incorporation to reflect the party’s new approach and philosophies, as well as the new legal requirements for political parties, while at the same staying true to some of its core values. This is definitely an example of the Democratic Party ‘Getting it Right’,” commented Wescot-Williams.
The PM has also previously stressed that the electoral council is in place and functioning and that numerous considerations need to be taken into account prior to the upcoming elections: “The electoral council is one of the important bodies that has been created by law as part of the entire electoral process. The electoral council, which is chaired by attorney Bert Hoffman, is the body to which political parties submit their request for registration. Over the last couple of weeks on our sister island of Curacao there have also been issues with regards to political parties registering etc. On St. Maarten political parties need to be an association and this is not yet the case on Curacao. A political party on Curacao is suggesting now that political parties need to be an association so in that respect St. Maarten is a step ahead,” commented Prime Minister Wescot-Williams.
After the registration of the Democratic Party at the Electoral Council Office, Democratic Party President Hasani Ellis stated that he considered it an honor to be a part of the democratic process “”As a young president, I consider it an honor to be part of this new process for political parties. It’s about transparency and that is something I endorse, as I believe it will encourage more young people to become part of a modern electoral process.”
