The parliament is the highest legislative body of the country and represents the entire population of the Dutch side of the island. The parliament consists of 15 members who are elected for a four-year period. The session year of parliament commences on the second Tuesday of September. During this session, the Governor provides an explanation of the policy to be pursued by the government. The parliament elects a President and Deputy President from its own numbers. The President of Parliament opens and closes the session year of the Parliament. Parliament is sometimes called a "co-legislator" with the Government, because both have control over policy.
Parliament's powers include:
The right to approve and amend the budget
The right of interpellation where each Member of Parliament (MP) has the right to question ministers of government in the General Assembly of Parliament
The right of initiative allows MPs to submit draft laws on their own initiative
The right to amendment, allows MPs to amend legislation that has been submitted to Parliament
The right to ask questions, every MP can question a Minister orally or in writing
The right to instigate inquiries allows parliament to institute an inquiry into the state of affairs in an event in which Government is involved
Current parliament
The Government of Sint Maarten is based on a political party having a majority of the 15 seats in parliament. A political party would need to have eight seats in order to govern outright. However, more than one party can form a Government if parties can reach an agreement to do so. An independent member of parliament can also be part of the ranks of the opposition or be part of the governing party or coalition.
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