Johannetta Gordijn photo - Bonaire Reporter

etails of the upcoming Bonaire Refer-
D endum to better define the form of the
relationship of Bonaire with the Netherlands
were released last week. Coincidently, the Referendum
is scheduled for the same day that the
new Antillean Parliament members will be
appointed. In the parliamentary election the
UPB party took two of Bonaire’s three seats in
the 22-member body.
Here are some details:
The Referendum Questions
The presentation of the referendum question
( to be presented only in Papiamentu and
Dutch) is:
“I want Bonaire to have a direct relationship
with The Netherlands in the form of
A: Association (Bonaire will acquire its own
position within the Kingdom of the Netherlands),
or
B: Integration (Bonaire will become a part
of the Netherlands).
Who can Vote
• Residents of Bonaire, 50 days before
the referendum date who are Dutch
citizens and at least 18 years old on
the referendum date. However, Dutch
citizens who were not born in the Antilles,
may not vote if they became a
resident on Bonaire after January 1st,
2007.
• Non-Dutch citizens can vote if they
have resided on Bonaire for 10 consecutive
years, 50 days before the
referendum, and are at least 18 years
old and possess a valid residence permit.
The referendum is valid only if at least 50%
Bonaire Reporter- Feb. 5-19, 2010
of the voters
cast a valid
vote. (Blank
ballot papers are
valid.)
New Form for
the Question
The question previously suggested by the
referendum-committee (“should the direct relationship
with the Netherlands be a free association
instead of integration?”) was revised following
last month’s advisory report of the
United Nations (UN). The UN did not suggest
another question but felt that the proposed
question “was not entirely clear.”
The UN felt the terms “association” and
“integration” should be explained to the population
in an objective manner, including the
consequences of the choice, or the Island
Council should reformulate the question.
Referendum Committee Duties
The Referendum regulation states there is
sufficient time to inform the public if the referendum
were to be held on March 26th. That
interval was recommended by the UN consultants
following their recent visit.
Providing independent and objective information
about the referendum choices is the
responsibility of the Referendum committee to
be appointed by the Island Government, as
advised by the UN. Council member PDBparty
leader Jopie Abraham recommended
constitutional law expert Douwe Boersma to
be the new chairman of the Referendum committee.
Boersma was the chairman of the Curaçao
referendum committee last year. � G.D.
ll the political parties counted a victory for themselves in the Par-
A liamentary elections
held on Friday, January 22.
The UPB (green) party
won because they took two
seats in the Antillean Parliament,
the PDB (red)
party won one seat. The
LdK (blue) party won because,
when combined with
the PDB vote, they made
up 51% of the ballots
which they interpreted as
meaning that most of the
voters supported their position
on the Referendum.
In actuality, Bonaire’s
parliamentary elections
were a repeat of past history as the Union Party Patriotiko Boneriano
(UPB-green) led by Ramonsito Booi captured two of the island’s three
seats. The Democratic Party (PDB-red) led by Jopie Abraham won the
other seat, while the Lista di Kambio (LdK-blue) led by Anthony Nicolaas
(ex-UPB) did not get sufficient votes for a seat.
Some analysts see the election result as a victory for the UPB-led process
for integration with Holland, now in abeyance pending a new, yet undefined
Referendum.
Others viewed the 51% of the voters who chose red or blue as an indication
that a slim majority of Bonaire voters want to refine their choice for
government with another Referendum.
UPB ended up with 3,673 votes, PDB with 2,720 votes and LdK with
1,126 votes. There were 9,519 eligible voters in Bonaire according to the
Island Registry, which meant 79% of the voters turned out, an increase
from the previous parliamentary election.
In Curaçao, the balance of power in the Antilles Central Government
was maintained as the current coalition which supports continuing Curaçao
and St. Maarten's course to become separate Dutch Kingdom Countries
in October 2010 was voted back in. � G.D.
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