Wescot Williams says she initiated referendum ordinance

President of Parliament and Democratic Party leader Sarah Wescot Williams said on Sunday 11 October that she has initiated a Referendum Ordinance to create a legal framework for referendums in Sint Maarten. In a Constitution Day address, Wescot Williams said Article 92 of the Constitution provides for referendums to be regulated by national ordinance.

Wescot Williams said the proposed ordinance would address who may call a referendum, how a question is set, how people are informed and what weight an outcome carries. She said Parliament would need to debate and adopt the ordinance after advice from the Council of Advice.

She also called for a “balance sheet” examining the costs and benefits of leaving the Kingdom of the Netherlands before any referendum on Sint Maarten’s constitutional status. Wescot Williams said the assessment should include figures on diplomatic representation, coast guard costs, debt and passports.

Wescot Williams said Sint Maarten became an autonomous country within the Kingdom on 10 October 2010, following a 2000 referendum in which, she said, a majority chose separate country status within the Kingdom.