At stake in this election:  

• The 15 seats in the Sint Maarten parliament

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: King Willem-ALEXANDER (since 30 April 2013)
• Queen’s Representative: Governor General Eugene HOLIDAY (since 10 October 2010)
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Sarah WESTCOTT-WILLIAMS (since 10 October 2010)
• Assembly: Sint Maarten has a unicameral Parliament

Description of electoral system:

• The King’s Representative (Governor General) is appointed by the monarch to serve a six-year term[i]
• The Prime Minister, after legislative elections, is usually the leader of the majority party (or coalition) and elected by the legislature[ii]
• In the Parliament, the 15 members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms[iii]

Election Note:

• The election is scheduled for 29 August 2014.[iv] The government’s term ends October 9, 2014.[v]

Political entities in this electoral race:

• National Alliance (NA)
  • Leader: William MARLIN[vi]
  • Seats won in last Assembly elections: 7
• United People’s Party (UPP)
  • Leader: Theo HEYLIGER[vii]
  • Seats won in last Assembly elections: 6
• Democratic Party (DP)
  • Leader: Roy MARLIN[viii]
  • Seats won in last Assembly elections: 2
• United St. Maarten Party (US Party)[ix]
  • Leader: Frans RICHARDSON (US)
  • Seats won in last Assembly elections: 0
• One St. Maarten People Party (OSPP)[x]
  • Leader: Lenny PRIEST (OSPP)
  • Seats won in last Assembly elections: 0

Last election:

• The last election to the parliament in Sint Maarten was held on 17 September 2010. The Democratic Party (DP) won 17.1% of the vote (2 seats in parliament) and the United People’s Party (UPP) won 36.1% of the vote (6 seats in parliament) and formed a governing coalition.  They beat the National Alliance (NA) which one 45.9% of the vote (7 seats). Results can be found here.
• The election preceded the complete dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles which occurred on 10 October 2010. Sint Maarten then became a semi-autonomous entity within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Population and Voter Registration:

• Population: 37,224 (July 2014 est)[xi]
• Registered Voters: 21,475 [xii]

Gender Data:

·         Is Sint Maarten a signatory to CEDAW: N/A

·         Has Sint Maarten ratified CEDAW: N/A

·         Gender Quota: N/A

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 3 

·         Human Development Index Position: N/A

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: N/A

Disability Data:

·         Is Sint Maarten a signatory to CRPD: N/A

·         Has Sint Maarten ratified CRPD: N/A

·         Population with a disability: 5,583 (est.)