Curaçao gained self-governance on January 1, 1954 as an island territory of the Netherlands Antilles. Today its an autonomous country which forms part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, but the Kingdom retains responsibility for defence and foreign policy. To make things even more confusing Curaçao and Sint Maarten held a referendum on April 8, 2005, in which its residents voted for a separate status outside the Netherlands Antilles, like Aruba, and rejected the options of full independence, becoming part of the Netherlands or retaining the status quo. In 2006, Emily de Jongh-Elhage, a resident of Curaçao, was elected as the new prime minister of the Netherlands Antilles, and not Curaçao. The Kingdom will also oversee the island's finances under a debt-relief arrangement agreed between the two. Curaçao has a parliamentary democracy based on the underlying premises of freedom of association, the right to form political parties, freedom of the press and freedom of speech. The Central Government's jurisdiction covers mostly state affairs (legislation) and includes police, communications, taxation, public health, education, economic control, the establishment of enterprises, labour legislation, money and banking and foreign currency. The island territory's affairs are a task of the Island Government, so it manages its own territorial affairs and has the power to enact laws.