- Politics of the Netherlands Antilles
Politics of the Netherlands Antilles, a constituent country of the
Kingdom of the Netherlands , takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democraticcountry , whereby the prime minister is thehead of government , and of amulti-party system .Executive power is exercised by the government. Federallegislative power is vested in both thegovernment and parliament. TheJudiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. TheNetherlands Antilles have full autonomy on most matters. Exceptions are defence, foreign affairs, and the Supreme Court.Executive power rests with a governor, and a prime minister heads an eight-member Cabinet. The governor 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 elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms.
The 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 the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba and the Supreme Court of Justice in the Netherlands.
The Netherlands Antilles is scheduled to be disbanded
December 15 ,2008 .Executive branch !align=left|Queen
Beatrix|30 April 1980
-!GovernorFrits Goedgedrag |1 July 2002
-!align=left|Prime MinisterEmily de Jongh-Elhage
PAR26 March 2006 The Governor is appointed by themonarch for a six-year term.
The Council of Ministers is elected by the Staten.Legislative branch
Unicameral
Estates of the Netherlands Antilles (22 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)Political parties and elections
Political parties are indigenous to each island.
Judicial branch
Joint High Court of Justice, judges appointed by the monarch
"note:"Administrative divisions
The Antilles are divided into five insular territories:
Curaçao ,Bonaire ,Sint Maarten ,Saba ,Sint Eustatius .Reform
The Netherlands Antilles are to be disbanded by the end of
2008 .Curaçao andSint-Maarten are to become separate "landen" within the Kingdom of theNetherlands , with a status similar to that ofAruba .Bonaire ,Saba andSint Eustatius will become part the "special communities" of the Netherlands-proper.International organization participation
Caricom (observer), ECLAC (associate),Interpol , IOC, UNESCO (associate), UPU, WMO, WToO (associate)
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.