Former MP Arrindell sent to prison for vote buying – StMaartenNews.com – News Views Reviews

PHILIPSBURG — The Court in First Instance sentenced former police officer and former member of parliament Akeem Arrindell to an 18-month prison sentence for vote buying during the January 2024 elections. The court also banned Arrindell from holding public functions and from participating in elections for 78 months – 6.5 years.

This is the harshest sentence for election fraud in recent history. In February 2018 former MP Silvio Matser was also found guilty of buying votes, but the court at the time sentenced him to just 8 months of imprisonment, with 2 months suspended, while it took away Matser’s right to be elected for five years.

The United People’s party (UP) was at the center of a vote buying scandal during the 2010 elections. In this case police officers took bribes offered by an uncle of party leader Theo Heyliger in exchange for their votes. While Heyliger was the obvious architect of the scheme, he was never prosecuted for it.

Arrindell was first elected to parliament in 2020, when he won 229 votes. In January 2024 he got 353 voters behind him, but during the subsequent snap elections in August of the same year he ended up with just 89 votes, not enough to secure a seat in parliament.

The court sentenced two co-defendants in this case to lighter sentences. Robert Morgan, who offered potential voters up to $200 for their vote, received a prison sentence of 12 months, with 4 months suspended. His girlfriend Natascha Francisca was found guilty of offering a family member $100 if they voted for Arrindell. The court sentenced her to180 hours of community service, with 90 hours suspended and three years of probation.

Arrindell was the number 3 on the list of candidates for the UP in the August 19, 2024, elections. He spent one day behind bars after his arrest on August 1, 2024, accused of membership of a criminal organization set up to buy votes. He lost his parliamentary seat during the elections that took place eighteen days after his arrest.

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