WILLEMSTAD - The unrest within the political party VISHON after two sound clips were leaked, has not resulted in a massive exodus of members. That is according to parties’ representatives.
Co-founder of the party Ishahier Monte comes lower on the list than he had expected. After all the fuss, Monte has now been removed from the list, but is still said to be a member of Vishon.
In the sound clips you can hear, among other things, that supporters of Monte demand an explanation from party leader Miles Mercera, because fifth place on the list is not enough for the popular carnival singer and social worker Monte. Mercera says it does not aspire to a place in parliament and Monte would therefore move up a place on the list. That would not be enough for Monte.
In a response to this issue, Vishon says that in consultation with all (potential) list candidates, a process has been mapped out on how the candidates list would take shape.
"As part of the selection and placement process, an outside agency was hired to conduct an integrity audit of all candidates. A selection and placement interview was also conducted with each candidate. The committee that conducted these interviews consisted of an outside political expert and party leader Miles. The party said in the statement.
According to Vishon, the integrity investigation and interview were ultimately used as the basis for assessing all candidates, taking into account the ambitions of each candidate.
At Monte's request, Mercera agreed last Saturday to engage with some of Monte's supporters about VISHON's positions. During this conversation, according to the party, Mercera was unexpectedly questioned about the reason why Monte was placed fifth on the list. The leaked audio recordings were recorded in this conscious conversation.
According to Vishon, Monte has agreed to the planned placement process, but his supporters disagree with the final position.
As a result of all the fuss it was eventually decided to no longer include Monte as a candidate for the list. According to the party, a meeting took place with Monte in which he was informed of this decision.
The executive board says that Monte is still a member, as he has not formally withdrawn his membership. Only one member would have withdrawn his membership as a result of the events.
"Mercera and the other candidates regret the course of events and would have liked it to have turned out differently. There is always room within the party to give each other feedback and to discuss disagreements,” said VISHON.
After VISHON indicated that Monte is still a member of the party, he appeared on the candidates list of the opposition party MFK as number 29.