Calling all expats - Use Your Vote On March 3rd!!

2010-01-31T18:00:00.000-08:00

March 3rd 2010 will see the next round of local elections in the Netherlands since 2006. Expats who are citizens of EU member states and are registered with a council are entitled to vote in these elections. But why should they bother? After all, expats live in a ‘bubble’ that rarely if at all touches on everyday life in their country of residence. If they are political creatures, they may be inclined to follow the news for their country of origin, in their native language. But this tends to be national news, not local.

Whether feeling disconnected from Dutch society because of the language barrier or disengaged because of an ample supply of expat events, more aspects of Council business affect your daily life than you may stop to realize. You may own a home in which case you pay council and water tax (rates) set by the council. Your home may be a monument and subject to stringent local building regulations. Or it may be on a new estate, subject to a long term development plan. You produce rubbish which needs to be collected. Whether you cycle, drive a car or take the bus, you use local roads, parking facilities and transport. Your children may attend local schools or join local sports clubs. You may want to enjoy local cultural events – cinema, music, theatre – or simply have a coffee on a terrace. Playgrounds and sports facilities, green areas, public order, provision for the disabled, premises and support for businesses – all of these are decided and organized locally.

The turnout at Dutch local elections has been falling steadily over the last thirty years, with barely 58% of voters having made the effort in 2006. European elections fare even worse – in 2004, only 39.1% of the Dutch cast their votes. By contrast, national elections see a more or less steady 80% of the electorate traipsing to the polling stations.

Now more than ever before, it is crucial that nationals and expats alike use their vote. At the national level, traditionally, the centre CDA (Christian Democratic Appeal) wins the largest number of seats in parliament and forms a coalition with either the centre-left PvdA (Labour) or centre right VVD (Liberals). Various smaller parties – D66 (Democrats), SP (socialists), Christian Union, GroenLinks (Greens), Party for Animals, SGP (Orthodox Protestants) – may have a seat or two in the Lower House with which they either help the coalition government to a majority or form part of the opposition. But since 9/11 in general, and the 2002 murder of Pim Fortuyn in particular, the more or less steady balance of power has become upset. The rise of the extreme right (officially termed neofascist fundamentalists), fronted by Rita Verdonk of TON (Proud of Holland) and Geert Wilders of PVV (Party for Freedom) means that of the 150 seats in the Lower House, the six biggest parties (CDA and D66 in the centre, PvdA and SP to the left and VVD and PVV to the right) account roughly for 20 to 25 each. This effectively makes the Netherlands ungovernable as no workable coalition majority can be achieved.

Many of the national parties attempt to get as strong a foothold in local government as possible – by way of both backbone and springboard. At the local level, too, coalitions need to be formed. Just as holds true for national government, many parties’ election promises will be surrendered to the coalition pact. If a party succeeds in gaining control of a council, the appointments of mayors and aldermen (burgemeester and wethouders) will likely be held by career politicians imported from other parts of Holland who are not familiar with local conditions, culture and traditions. They set their sights at The Hague, indulge in costly prestige projects to make a name for themselves and fail to take a long term view. To oppose this trend, many Dutch towns now see Stadspartijen (City Parties) sprouting up like mushrooms. These tend to consist of a cross-section of ordinary citizens - local entrepreneurs, artists, people on benefits – whose roots and networks in their city mean real insight into what residents wish to see their city developped into. And a real desire to represent their electorate in their city.

So, spoilt for choice, how will you decide who to vote for? If you want to make an informed decision but cannot be bothered to look at each party’s manifesto, go to http://www.stemwijzer.nl/ or http://www.kieskompas.nl/. You may hit it lucky and find some information in English or you may be sufficiently proficient in Dutch to make sense of what you read. Alternatively, you can attend the English language information evenings organized by the Stadspartij Leiden Ontzet on February 17th and 24th – you will gain a host of information on the Dutch political system but will, naturally, also be canvassed to vote for a Stadspartij candidate. To allow SLO to gauge the number of attendees (and prepare enough coffee and tea), please register by sending an e-mail to info@stidis.nl, stating your name and the date preferred. In recognition of the large numbers of expats in the Leiden area and their right to have a say in what happens in their town, the complete manifesto of the Stadspartij Leiden Ontzet is available in English at http://www.stadspartijleidenontzet.nl/.

Finally, how do you vote? And what if you are abroad on March 3rd? That’s the easy part. Approximately two weeks prior to election day, your council will send you a ballot or stembiljet through the post. This will state the address of the polling station in your area. You simply go there - remembering to carry ID! - and follow the instructions of the staff. If you wish to vote but cannot attend in person, you may authorize another person to vote on your behalf. You do so by signing the reverse of the ballot paper together with the person authorized.

Have a say in your community – use your vote on March 3rd! And if you live in Leiden, vote Lijst 9: Stadspartij Leiden Ontzet. By the way, the author of this blog is candidate number 7. I stand in particular for the implementation of the millennium development goals (including sustainability) in Leiden's policies and plans. I'm what you might call a 'hybrid' expat - native Dutch but lived abroad for most of my life. So I see life in Holland through your eyes. And will do my utmost for you.

@StadspartijLdn

Useful links:
http://www.publiek-politiek.nl/
http://www.haagsestadspartij.nl/
http://www.cda.nl/
http://www.pvda.nl/
http://www.sp.nl/
http://www.vvd.nl/
http://www.pvv.nl/
http://www.partijvoordedieren.nl/
http://www.trotsopnederland.com/
http://www.groenlinks.nl/

Active citizens of the world unite!

Calling all expats - Use Your Vote On March 3rd!!