WILLEMSTAD - Ramon Chong cannot be nominated as a minister. Chong himself still saw himself as a good candidate for the ministry of economic development in the new Pisas cabinet, but according to the law he does not pass the screening and so formateur Chester Peterson cannot nominate him.
Chong, currently chairman of the PNP party and intended minister of Economic Affairs, released the information himself in a press release last weekend. This took place right after he announced in a press conference that he did not intend to withdraw his candidacy, despite all the opposition in the past week and a half.
The reason for formateur Peterson to inform Chong in a letter that he cannot be nominated as minister is the fact that the PNP man has a criminal record. Chong was convicted of corruption in 2003, when he was still an island commissioner. And the screening law is clear about that: someone with a conviction cannot become a minister.
Chong says he is disappointed and will study the information in the formateur's letter further. He is considering going to court because he sees it as a matter of principle. "Curaçao is the only country in the Kingdom with such a law. Mark Rutte has received a civil conviction and can simply be Prime Minister in the Netherlands. Why can't I become a minister? This is not right," says Chong.
After Eduard Braam - who voluntarily withdrew last week due to the commotion surrounding his person and therefore did not receive a formal rejection from the formateur - the new Pisas cabinet has lost a second candidate minister.
Which will most likely cause a delay in this final phase of the cabinet formation. The PNP does not yet immediately have another candidate available. Should this new candidate be nominated soon, the screening process will have to start all over again.