The Government of St. 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 (8) 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(s).
The current parliament took office on October 10, 2010 and will serve for a four-year period, until 2014 when new elections are due.
The current parliament comprises of the following:
THE GOVERNMENT
The National Alliance (NA) party with five (5) seats in parliament and led by William Marlin has formed a coalition government with Independent Members of Parliament Hon. Romain Laville one (1) seat, MP Hon. Frans Richardson one (1) seat, MP Hon. Patrick Illidge one (1) seat, and the Democratic Party (DP) led by Sarah Wescot-Williams with two (2) seats for a total of 10 seats out of the 15 seat Parliament.
THE OPPOSITION
The United Peoples (UP) party with five seats (5) led by Theo Heyliger.