Parliamentary elections are being held on Aruba. Prime Minister Nelson Oduber said he was confident that his centre-left party MEP, which has been in power for the past eight years, will again be able to form a majority government.

The party's main challenger is the Christian-Democrat AVP. The island's 65,000 registered voters have a choice of eight parties to vote for. One of the main election issues are the relations of the autonomous region with the Netherlands. Aruba's parliament recently voted against a new law on the freedom of movement of people, which was deemed to turn the island's resident into second-rate citizens within the Kingdom. The economic crisis is another topic in the ballot, as it it threatening the retirement age of 60.

Foto: Nelson Oduber with Jan Peter Balkenende (ANP)