Administrative divisions of Curaçao

From the Dutch Wikipedia page on Curaçao [1]

On August 27, 2010, elections were held for the Island Council of Curaçao. The 21 elected members formed the Island Council before October 10, 2010, after that date they formed the States. On October 10, 2010, Ivar Asjes was elected first president of the States of Curaçao . The first formal meeting of Parliament was attended by the Presidents of the Upper and Lower Houses of the States General of the Netherlands, René van der Linden and Gerdi Verbeet, and the President of the States of Aruba, Paul Croes .

In 1993 a first referendum on the political future of Curaçao was held. Although the government advocated an autonomous status , the majority of the population then opted for the continuation and restructuring of the Netherlands Antilles.
73% voted for restructuring of the Netherlands Antilles.

As a result of this result, the government resigned and in new elections the then new party PAR won , which consisted of supporters of restructuring of the Antilles. The simultaneously founded party C'93 of former leader of the FOL Stanley Brown , who argued for integration in the Netherlands, was not a success.

After only a few years, it appeared that the restructuring did not offer a solution to the major social and economic problems in Curaçao. In addition, the other smaller islands within the Netherlands Antilles were also increasingly affected by the financial problems that this entailed. That is why again discussion arose about the survival of the Netherlands Antilles.

On April 8, 2005 , a second referendum was held, in which the people of Curaçao could pronounce on the desired political future of the island. Almost 68% voted for Curaçao to become an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, with almost 24% voting for it to become part of the Netherlands.

By choosing option A, the population this time followed the wishes of the politicians on the island. As in the referendum in 1993, almost all parties are in favor of an autonomous country status , only the small new party Pueblo Soberano advocates full independence . However, the opinions of the people are very diverse and the considerable support for option D in particular is remarkable, because this option is not or hardly represented in politics. The proponents of this option believe that better and safer Curaçao requires integration with the Netherlands. They recruit with the slogan "P'e Kòrsou ku nos meresé", for the Curaçao that we deserve .

During a mini-round table conference in The Hague on October 11, 2006, it was agreed with the Netherlands that Curaçao would receive the so-called status separate . Curaçao would thus become an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. As part of this agreement, the Dutch government has offered to restructure or take over a large part of the national debt. The agreements have been summarized in a final statement, which subsequently became the subject of much debate in Curaçao. In the opinion of the opposition parties, of which the FOL was the most important, and the smallest coalition parties, the agreements did not go far enough. The largest coalition parties, the PAR and the PNP, defended the agreement. Ultimately, the agreement was rejected by a majority in the Island Council of Curaçao, after which the Executive Council fell apart and a new coalition was formed under the leadership of the FOL to complete the time until the new elections on April 20, 2007 .

For the economic and political future of Curaçao, the rejection of the agreements caused a lot of uncertainty. Both in politics and among the population, supporters and opponents came to face each other. Opponents pleaded for renegotiations, but both the Balkenende III cabinet and the new Balkenende IV cabinetindicated that he did not support this, almost unanimously supported by the House of Representatives. Polls in Curaçao showed that, due to the continuing political turmoil, support for the status of individual declined sharply, in favor of integration in the Netherlands (option D). This is probably partly due to the concrete formulation of this option: at the time of the referendum in April 2005 it was not yet known what this option could look like and was therefore not a real consideration for many. It was not until October 2006 that the Netherlands and the small islands of Bonaire, Saba and St. Eustatius agreed that the Dutch Municipalities Act would serve as the basis for this status .

The Island Council elections were therefore crucial and revolved entirely around the theme of the final statement. If the opponents were to gain a majority, an impasse was likely to arise. In the most extreme case, due to the departure of the other islands from the Netherlands Antilles, Curaçao would remain as the only island of the Netherlands Antilles, with de facto autonomous status, but also with the sky-high government debt of the Netherlands Antilles.

Ultimately, neither the opponents nor the opponents achieved a clear majority in the island council elections. However, the two parties in favor of the final statement, the PAR and the PNP, managed to reach an agreement with big loser FOL about the formation of a new coalition. It was agreed to vote again on the final statement. After a long meeting, the Curaçao Island Council in the night of 6 to 7 July 2007 approved the final statement subject to conditions: PAR, PNP, FOL and DP now voted for 12 of the 21 seats. On August 28, an agreement was then signed with the Netherlands on the political process, after which the Island Council ratified this agreement with 13 votes from the PAR, PNP, FOL, DP and FK a day later. It was supposed to be onDecember 15, 2008 to obtain the autonomous status of "country within the Kingdom" In May 2008, it was definitively determined in the Steering Group by Sint Maarten, Curaçao and the Netherlands in Curaçao that the target date of 15 December as the implementation date for the new political relations is not feasible. It is however possible to have all the necessary legislation ready by that date so that it can be submitted to the Dutch parliament, the States of the Netherlands Antilles and the Island Councils of Curaçao and Sint Maarten. Therefore, a round table conference will be organized on 15 December 2008 to test the total package of legislation against the previously agreed criteria in the final statement.

Looking at the planning, the parties have decided to ask the Council of State of the Kingdom for advice on how to achieve an acceleration to the autonomous status and how to shorten the legislative process until January 2010, when new States elections should be held.

In a so-called 'information advice', the Council of State advised the Dutch and Antillean governments to temporarily assign the governor of the Netherlands Antilles, the Queen's representative, with its own administrative powers and its own administrative organization. The governor can temporarily fulfill the pivotal function thanks to an exceptional article in the Kingdom Statute, article 51. That article makes it possible to intervene administratively in the event of maladministration. According to the Council of State, this is not the case, but it is still possible because it concerns a special situation, namely the transition to a new political model.

In practice, the follow-up to that advice sidelines the Dutch and Antillean parliaments. The governor only reports directly to the Kingdom Council of Ministers. The Council of State says it is aware of that situation. But it is a 'temporary situation' in which 'normal accountability can be restored in due course'.

On May 15, 2009, the residents of Curaçao went to the polls to vote in a referendum about the political future of the island. Almost 120,000 people could indicate that they were in favor or against the new political relationship with the Netherlands. A majority of 52% voted in favor of the proposed new political relationship. This result has made Curaçao an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.