Bonaire constitutional referendum, 2010
Encyclopedia
Frits Goedgedrag
Frits M. de los Santos Goedgedrag is the current and first Governor of Curaçao. From 1 July 2002 to 9 October 2010, Goedgedrag was the Governor of the Netherlands Antilles. From 1992 to 1998, he was Administrator of Bonaire....
has granted Thode's request and cancelled the referendum.
The enabling legislation decided that the referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
should be worded "Ik wil dat Bonaire een rechtstreekse band met Nederland zal hebben in de vorm van A. Associatie (Bonaire krijgt een eigenstandige positie binnen het Koninkrijk) of B. Integratie (Bonaire wordt deel van Nederland)" (I desire that Bonaire shall have a direct tie with the Netherlands in the form of A: Association (Bonaire holds an independent position inside the Kingdom) or B: Integration (Bonaire becomes a part of the Netherlands)).
The Netherlands Antilles is scheduled to cease to exist on October 10, 2010. Under the current terms of the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles, Bonaire will become a fully integrated municipality
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
within the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Kingdom of the Netherlands
The Kingdom of the Netherlands is a sovereign state and constitutional monarchy with territory in Western Europe and in the Caribbean. The four parts of the Kingdom—Aruba, Curaçao, the Netherlands, and Sint Maarten—are referred to as "countries", and participate on a basis of equality...
. This may be changed should voters choose to become an associated state
Associated state
An associated state is the minor partner in a formal, free relationship between a political territory with a degree of statehood and a nation, for which no other specific term, such as protectorate, is adopted...
within the Netherlands instead.
The set date for the referendum was originally set as January 15, 2010, exactly one week before the Netherlands Antilles general election
Netherlands Antilles general election, 2010
General elections in the Netherlands Antilles took place 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 date was chosen so it will not conflict with the general election. Other dates originally considered for the referendum were December 11, 2009, and March 19, 2010. The referendum did not take place on January 15, and was rescheduled to March 26, 2010 before being cancelled.
The Netherlands has indicated that it will not cooperate if the referendum favors free association, stating "that the only alternative to the process of integration currently in execution was independence". Previously agreed upon payments from the Kingdom to Bonaire have been placed on hold pending the outcome of the referendum.
The referendum was called after a government changeover from the Bonaire Patriotic Union
Bonaire Patriotic Union
The Bonaire Patriotic Union is a political party in Bonaire, the Netherlands Antilles.At the legislative elections in the Netherlands Antilles, 18 January 2002, the party won 3.6% of the popular vote and 2 out of 22 seats. At the elections in the Netherlands Antilles of 27 January 2006, the party...
(UPB), led by Ramonsito Booi, to the Bonaire Democratic Alliance
Bonaire Democratic Party
The Bonaire Democratic Party is a political party in Bonaire, the Netherlands Antilles.At the legislative elections in the Netherlands Antilles, 18 January 2002, the party won 2.6 % of the popular vote and 1 out of 22 Parliament seats...
(ADB), led by Jopie Abraham. The referendum was a key point of contention between the two parties. The succession was triggered by the departure of Anthony Nicolaas from the ruling coalition, an act which is being investigated as being a result of corruption.
Ultimately, a referendum was held on December 17, 2010. 35% of the electorate voted, with 84.3% of the voters opposing the new status. As the referendum process requires 51% turnout, the referendum was declared invalid.