Aruba is a small island nation in the South Caribbean Sea. Famous for its beautiful beaches and delightful weather, this tropical gem has been an independent part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands since the late 1980’s. Prior to gaining its independence, Aruba has had a long history of being under Spanish, then British and then Dutch control. The culture of the island reflects these influences and today, as an independent nation, Aruba practices a Parliamentary form of government and holds elections every four years. Aruba has a multi-party form of government with two or three popular parties.
The island of Aruba is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Aruba’s government consists of a 21 member parliament known as the Staten and an 8 member cabinet. Aruba has a governor that is appointed by the monarch for a six year term, with a Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister that are elected by the Staten every four years. The members of the parliament are chosen through direct popular vote at the elections which are also held every four years. Like the Dutch government that it is linked to, Aruba’s political system includes 3 branches, the executive, legislative and judicial branches.
Aruba’s constitution was adopted in 1986, when Aruba gained its status apart, although the first version was presented to the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1947. The first election was held in 1985 and Aruba became fully independent on January 1, 1986. In the last several decades there have been 6 elections, and nowadays the parliament is dominated by two parties – the People’s Electoral Movement and the Aruban People’s Party. There are a number of other parties that are active in Aruba, but at any given time they only hold one or two seats on the Staten at best.
The executive and legislative branches operate entirely separately from the judicial branch of government with all of the justices being appointed by the monarch. The legislative and executive branches are the only branches that hold elections. Although elections in Aruba are a fairly recent development in Aruba, the small island nation has handled the shift to being an independent nation very well and continues to thrive and flourish under its own rule. The next gubernatorial election is slated for the year 2010 and the next parliamentary election will be later in 2009. It will be very interesting to see the results.
