Politics

Introduction

In 1954 a new constitutional order was established under which the Netherlands Antilles became an integral part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Netherlands Antilles are since then fully autonomous in internal affairs and constitutionaly equal with the Netherlands and Aruba.

The Kingdom of the Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy with parliamentary democracy. The Queen is head of State and is represented in the Netherlands by the Governor.

The Netherlands Antilles have governing bodies at both the Central and island levels.

The federal government of the Netherlands Antilles are formed by the Governor and the Council of Ministers.

The Netherlands Antilles at present consist of five islands, each of which is autonomous as regards its own affairs. Each island is administered by a Lieutenant-Governor and an Executive Council.

The Netherlands Antilles have a multi-party system. On the other hand there exists a system of proportional representation in which seats are allocated to parties in proportion to the votes cast for them. To be elected one must have a number of votes equal to the number of votes cast divided by the number of seats to be allocated.

Both Parliament  and Island Councils are elected in principle according to the same electoral system.

The right to vote and to stand for election is laid down in the Constitution of the Netherlands Antilles.