Last Tuesday many legislators sent shockwaves through the nation when it became clear that they deemed the celebration of Christmas more important than the discussion of essential bills of which at least one must be passed and proclaimed before the end of 2024. The session started much later than scheduled but the legislators did not want to make up for lost time and wanted to go home at the usual time. The chairman of parliament,

 Marinus Bee, felt compelled to adjourn the session to Saturday which is highly unusual as parliament normally does not convene in the weekend. The bills that must be discussed are aimed at changing the Elections Act to pave the way for the general elections of May 25th, 2025. During the session only two ministers remained in the conference room while less than 20 legislators were present.Most of the legislators who were present are from the VHP. The chairman pointed out that he could relate to the MPs who wanted to leave early to do some Christmas shopping.