ORANJESTAD - Prime Minister Evelyn Wever-Croes (MEP) has officially offered the resignation of her cabinet to the Governor, marking the collapse of the Wever-Croes II administration. A new election date has already been set for December 6, and political parties must submit their candidate lists by October 18.
The immediate trigger for the collapse came after the Parliament elected Raymond Kamperveen from coalition partner RAIZ as chairperson, thereby preventing the reappointment of MEP's candidate, Edgar Vrolijk. The MEP faction reacted furiously, accusing RAIZ of accepting opposition support to sideline Vrolijk in favor of their own candidate. In the vote, Vrolijk only received backing from the full MEP faction and independent MP Santos do Nascimento (formerly of AVP), while Kamperveen secured 11 votes from a coalition of AVP, MAS, Accion21, independent MP Croes, and RAIZ, defeating Vrolijk by 11-10.
Observers have suggested that MEP may have deliberately instigated this cabinet crisis and has been quietly preparing for an election campaign for months. Recent social media posts by MEP officials hinted that the party was already in campaign mode. Over the weekend, Prime Minister Wever-Croes had stated she was "ready for elections" in anticipation of Vrolijk potentially being rejected as chairperson.
With the elections now set for December 6, other parties have little time to mount a full campaign. They will first need to focus on finalizing their candidate lists before the October 18 deadline. The premature collapse of the Wever-Croes II government bears a striking resemblance to the fall of the first Wever-Croes administration, which also saw MEP break with a smaller coalition partner, POR. However, MEP’s attempt to secure an absolute majority in the previous election was unsuccessful.
This upcoming election will reveal whether MEP can capitalize on the situation or whether the opposition can rally and offer a competitive alternative.