IFES Conducts Technical Observation and Assessment of 2020 Sint Eustatius Island Council Elections

On October 21, 2020, Sint Eustatius, a special municipality in the Caribbean Netherlands, held Island Council elections for the first time in two years. The elections marked a momentous return to democracy on the island after a legal administrative intervention by the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK) in 2018. The previously elected Island Council was dissolved and replaced by a government-appointed Commissioner.

The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) Mission Leader Orrette Fisher and Senior Elections Advisor David V. Hamilton travelled to Sint Eustatius to conduct a technical observation and assessment of the elections at the BZK’s invitation. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the IFES evaluation comprised the only observation mission or assessment of the elections on the ground.

The technical observation and assessment report offers a general overview of key features of the Island Council electoral process, including the law reform process and electoral system; political party and candidate registration, financing and campaigns; institutional framework and Election Day operations; and election dispute resolution. It also addresses specific issues around the legal suspension of democracy in Sint Eustatius by the Dutch Parliament because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Published on October 13, 2021.