Politics of Aruba
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Politics of Aruba, a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic country, whereby the prime minister is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Federal legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. Aruba but it has full autonomy on most matters. Exceptions are defence, foreign affairs, and the Supreme Court. The constitution was enacted in January 1986. Executive power rests with a governor, and a prime minister heads an eight-member Cabinet. The governor of Aruba is appointed for a six-year term by the monarch, and the prime minister and deputy prime minister are elected by the Staten for four-year terms. The legislature or Staten is made up of 21 members elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms.
Aruba's judicial system, which has mainly been derived from the Dutch system, operates independently of the legislature and the executive. Jurisdiction, including appeal, lies with the Common Court of Justice of Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles and the Supreme Court of Justice in the Netherlands.
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[edit] Political conditions
After a break in the coalition between the ruling Aruban People's Party (Arubaanse Volkspartij, AVP) and the Aruban Liberal Organization (Organisashon Liberal Arubano, OLA), the election of July 1998 was pushed forward to December 1997. Unfortunately, the results were unclear, with no clear mandate for a particular coalition. The AVP announced that they preferred a coalition between the large parties, the MEP and the AVP. The message was not clear enough from the MEP side and the negotiations went sluggish. After more than 6 months of talks, the AVP started negotiations with its previous coalition partner and succeeded to form a weak but stable enough coalition. The MEP remained in the opposition, a place strategically favored by the party leader Nelson (Nel) O. Oduber.
Four years later, in September 2001, the strategy paid off and the MEP won a decisive victory from the opposition. The MEP took 12 of 21 seats to form Aruba's first non-coalition government. The AVP on the other hand lost heavily and retained only 6 seats. The other coalition partner of the AVP OLA, retained only 1 seat. The PPA, which endured two seatless elections, got 2 seats.
After the 2001 election, the AVP leader, Dr. Robertico (Tico) Croes stepped down as party leader and left politics as the result of the election results. He went on to pursue a career in teaching in the United States of America (University of Central Florida).
The AVPAVP underwent a long and arduous restructuring process which included a new party leader, Michiel (Mike) G. Eman, grandson of one of the party founders. In the 2005 elections, the AVP gained seats contrary to most predictions and remained the largest opposition party.
The MEP, on the other hand lost votes, but managed to only lose a single seat, thus remaining in office after the 2005 elections and still as a non-coalition government.
In these elections, however, the PPA and OLA parties lost their seats and other lesser known parties, failed to get enough votes for a seat in the Parliament. The DR party did not win a seat by a very narrow margin. The winning parties (i.e. which gained seats) in the 2005 elections were the AVP RED and the MPA.
| Party (alph. order) |
1994 |
1997 |
2001 |
2005 |
'01 vs '05 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AVP | 10 | 10 | 6 | 8 | +2 |
| MEP | 9 | 9 | 12 | 11 | -1 |
| MPA | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1 | n/a |
| OLA | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | -1 |
| PPA | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | -2 |
| RED | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1 | n/a |
| DR | n/a | n/a | n/a | 0 | n/a |
After the 2005 elections the PPA all but disappeared from the political scene and the OLA seems have entered an uncertain state, as the party leader publicly acknowledged that he was joining the MEP.
Since 2005 elections, the MEP has been plagued by constant allegations of corruption and scandals. One such allegation resulted in the removal of selected authorities (related to naturalization and immigration) from the Minister of Justice (Hiacinto (Rudy) Croes) by means of a protocol signed by three Dutch Ministers and the government of Aruba.
Another scandal, which has not resulted in a conviction is related to the Minister of Labour. The Minister, T.F. (Ramon) Lee, was publicly accused by a female aide of sexual harassment.
The latest scandal is the result of a bribery letter, the now infamous "Namdar Letter", exposed by a former MEP aide, Michael Williams.
[edit] Government
[edit] Executive branch
| Office | Name | Party | Since |
|---|---|---|---|
| Queen | Beatrix | 30 April 1980 | |
| Governor General | Fredis Refunjol | 11 May 2004 | |
| Prime Minister | Nelson O. Oduber | MEP | 30 October 2001 |
The Governor General is appointed by the monarch for a six-year term.
The Council of Ministers is elected by the Staten.
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[edit] Legislative branch
Aruba elects on national level a legislature. The Estates (Staten) have 21 members, elected for a four year term by proportional representation with a universal suffrage from 18 years of age. Aruba has a multi-party system, with two or three strong parties and a third party that is electorally successful.
[edit] Judicial branch
Joint High Court of Justice (judges are appointed by the monarch)
[edit] Political parties and elections
| Parties | Votes | % | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|
| People's Electoral Movement (Movimiento Electoral di Pueblo) | 43 | 11 | |
| Aruban People's Party [1] (Arubaanse Volkspartij) | 32 | 8 | |
| Aruban Patriotic Movement (Movimento Patriotico Arubano) | 7 | 1 | |
| Network (RED) | 7 | 1 | |
| Real Democracy (Democracia Real) | 6 | 0 | |
| Aruban Liberal Organization (Organisacion Liberal Arubiano) | 4 | 0 | |
| Aruban Patriotic Party (Partido Patriótico Arubano) | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 21 |
[edit] Additional Political Parties
[edit] International relations
International organization participation: Caricom (observer), ECLAC (associate), Interpol, IOC, UNESCO (associate), Parlatino, WCL(World Confederation of Labour), WToO (associate) and Caribbean Tourism Organisation.
[edit] External links
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