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General elections were held in the Netherlands Antilles on 22 January 2010. Voters elected the 22 members of the Estates, or parliament, of the Netherlands Antilles. It has been the country's last general election, as the Netherlands Antilles have ceased to exist as a country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands on 10 October 2010. At the time of the elections, the Netherlands Antilles consisted of the Caribbean islands of Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius and Sint Maarten.

Background

The Council of Ministers of the Netherlands Antilles announced on 16 September 2009, that it had chosen 22 January 2010 as the official date for the upcoming general election. Voter registration for the election ended in November 2009. Antillean political parties who wish to contest the election must submit their list of candidates by the first week of December 2009.

There was some disagreement among politicians in the Netherlands Antilles as to the exact date of the upcoming election. Some politicians, including the Minister of Constitutional Affairs Roland Duncan, advocated an election date of 29 January 2010, instead. However, the 29 January date was ultimately rejected because the annual Tumba Festival also takes place on Curaçao on that date.

Glenn Sulvaran of the Curaçao based Party for the Restructured Antilles (PAR) argued against the original proposed 29 January date, noting that elections are not held during the carnival season on Sint Maarten or other islands, so the general election should not conflict with the Tumba Festival. Minister of Constitutional Affairs Roland Duncan rejected that argument, noting that the festival could be rescheduled for an event as important as a general election. Duncan criticized the perception that Curaçao's interests dominated those of other islands in the Netherlands Antilles, "Sometimes I have to wonder how serious we are. This is a prime example of how much of a farce the Netherlands Antilles is. What is best for Curaçao automatically has to be best for the other islands as well."

A date of 22 January 2010, was ultimately agreed upon by the Council of Ministers.

Results

On Curaçao, the PAR won the most seats, and were expected to form the next government.

References

1. ^ "January 22 is tentative date for parliamentary elections". Netherlands Antilles Daily Herald. Archived from the original on January 27, 2010. Retrieved 2009-10-21.
2. ^ di Prensa, Komunikado (2009-09-17). "Elections Parliament January 22, 2010". Caribseek Curaçao News. Archived from the original on July 8, 2011. Retrieved 2009-10-21.
3. "Netherlands Antilles to cease to exist as a country". Radio Netherlands Worldwide. NRC Handelsblad. 2009-10-01. Archived from the original on 2009-10-02. Retrieved 2009-10-21.
4. http://www.amigoe.com/artman/publish/artikel_67891.php
5. https://web.archive.org/web/20150102162504/http://www.sxmislandtime.com/front-page-headliners/9466

v t e Elections in the Netherlands Antilles
General elections	1937 1941 1945 1949 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1969 1973 1977 1979 1982 1985 1988 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010
Island council elections	1951 1955 1959 1963 1967 1971 1975 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 Snap elections Aruba (1985) Curaçao (2010) Sint Maarten (2010)
See also: Elections and referendums in Aruba Bonaire Curaçao Saba Sint Eustatius Sint Maarten Netherlands

• Elections in the Netherlands Antilles
• 2010 elections in the Caribbean
• 2010 in the Netherlands Antilles