2020 Sint Eustatius island council election

Island Council elections were held in Sint Eustatius on 21 October 2020. Sint Eustatius is a special municipality (officially "public body") of the Netherlands.[4] The elections were originally to be held on 20 March 2019, but were postponed due to administrative intervention by the Dutch government.[5]  On 23 September 2019, a new election date was announced.[6]

2020 Sint Eustatius island council election
21 October 2020
5 seats in the Island council
  First party Second party
 
PLP
DP
Leader Rechelline Leerdam Adelka Spanner
Party PLP DP
Last election 30.44%, 2 seats 29.94%, 2 seats
Seats before 2 2
Seats won 3 2
Seat change Increase1 Steady
Popular vote 815 647
Percentage 51.39% 40.79%
Leader of Government[1] before election

Clyde van Putten[2]
Progressive Labour Party

 Elected Leader of Government[3]

TBD

Politics of Sint Eustatius

Since 2015 foreign nationals also have the right to vote and to stand as a candidate if they are 18 years of age, reside lawfully on Bonaire, Sint Eustatius or Saba on the day of nomination, and have been a resident of the Netherlands or legally resided there immediately prior to that day for an uninterrupted period of at least five years.

The Progressive Labour Party, led by Rechelline Leerdam, won three seats on Island Council to form the governing majority, while the Democratic Party, led by Adelka Spanner, won the remaining two seats.[7] The new Island Council members were inaugurated on 29 October.[7][8][9]

Schedule

The timetable for these elections is as follows:[10]

Date action
29 July 2020 Last day for batch registration
7 September 2020 Day of nomination
21 October 2020 Day of voting
23 October 2020 Announcement of the final result

Contesting parties
Party Position Ideology Leader

(since)

 Last election At dissolution Contesting
Progressive Labour Party Centre-left Rechelline Leerdam[11]

(July 2020)
2 / 5 (40%)
2 / 5 (40%)
 Yes
Democratic Party Centre[12] Christian democracy Adelka Spanner

(August 2013)[13]
2 / 5 (40%)
2 / 5 (40%)
 Yes
United People's Coalition Centre Elvin Henriquez[14]

(July 2020)[14]
1 / 5 (20%)
0 / 5 (0%)
 Yes

Incumbent legislature

In the 2015 elections, the Progressive Labour Party and Democratic Party won two seats each, with the United People's Coalition taking one seat. Turnout was 65.46%, with 1,594 out of 2,135 eligible voters taking part. There were 6 blank ballots and 8 invalid ballots. The incumbent coalition was between the PLP and UPC.

Incumbent Council Members[15]
# 2015 election
Island Council Member[16][17] Votes
1 Clyde van Putten 251
2 Adelka Spanner 150
3 Koos Sneek 135
4 Reginald Zaandam 67
5 Astrid McKenzie-Tatem 58

Results
PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Progressive Labour Party81551.393+1
Democratic Party64740.7920
United People's Coalition1247.820–1
Total1,586100.0050
Valid votes1,58698.14
Invalid/blank votes301.86
Total votes1,616100.00
Registered voters/turnout2,10276.88

References
  1. "Clyde van Putten: Voter is Always Right". BES Reporter. 22 March 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  2. "Clyde van Putten: Voter is Always Right". BES Reporter. 22 March 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  3. "Clyde van Putten: Voter is Always Right". BES Reporter. 22 March 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  4. "Wet openbare lichamen Bonaire, Sint Eustatius en Saba (Law on the public bodies of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba)". Dutch Government (in Dutch). Retrieved 14 October 2010.
  5. Verkiezingen St Eustatius van de baan Antilliaans Dagblad, 15 November 2018
  6. "Sint-Eustatius in 2020 naar stembus, Nederlandse regering blijft voorlopig besturen". NTR Caribisch Netwerk. 24 September 2019. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  7. "Island Council St. Eustatius installed". Island Council of Sint Eustatius. 29 October 2020. Archived from the original on 18 April 2022. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  8. "St. Eustatius Island Council Sworn In". Daily Herald (St Maarten). 29 October 2020. Archived from the original on 18 April 2022. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  9. "St. Eustatius Island Council Sworn In". Daily Herald (St Maarten). Saba News. 30 October 2020. Archived from the original on 18 April 2022. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  10. van Rij, Marnix (15 June 2020). "Information Bulletin of the Public Entity of St. Eustatius- Island Council Election October 21, 2020 - Publication - St. Eustatius". www.statiagovernment.com. Archived from the original on 11 July 2020. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  11. "PLP (Statia) Elects Rechelline Leerdam as New Party Leader". BES Reporter. 20 July 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  12. "Democratic Party of Sint Eustatius". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  13. "Adelka Spanner nieuwe DP-leider". Caribisch Netwerk (in Dutch). 13 August 2013. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  14. "Elvin Henriquez to lead UPC into Upcoming Election". BES Reporter. 18 July 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  15. "Island, Executive Councils Take Oath of Office in Statia" (PDF). The Daily Herald. 28 March 2015. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  16. "The Daily Herald". thedailyherald.info. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  17. "Elections Concluded on Bes Islands | SXMElections.com". beta.sxmelections.com. Retrieved 7 September 2020.


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