Dutch provincial elections, 2011
Encyclopedia
Provincial elections were held on the Netherlands
on Wednesday 2 March 2011. Eligible voters elected the members of the States-Provincial
in the twelve provinces
. These elections also indirectly determined
the members of the Senate, since the 566 members of the twelve States-Provincial elected the Senate's 75 members in the Senate election
on 23 May 2011.
The Senate election and therefore the provincial elections are important, since the current Rutte cabinet had a minority in the Senate when it took office. The coalition and support parties hoped to gain a majority in the Senate through these elections, but failed to do so, obtaining 37 out of 75 seats. However, it is expected that the small Christian party SGP
, which obtained one seat, will support the cabinet.
On the same date, Island Council elections were held in the three public bodies of the Caribbean Netherlands. In the future, it is planned that the members of the Island Councils will also have a vote in the Senate election, but in 2011 this will not yet be the case because this requires a change in the Constitution
.
, left-liberal D66
, and right-wing Party for Freedom
made significant gains throughout the provinces. The Labor Party
stayed relatively stable, while the Socialist Party
suffered losses from their 2007 results. The Christian Democratic Appeal
suffered big losses losing some 65 of their previous 151 provincial seats. However, the party didn't fare as bad as the polls suggested.
This was the first provincial elections that Geert Wilders
' Party for Freedom
participated in. The party managed to pick up seats in all of the Netherlands' provinces with its best results in the southern provinces of North Brabant
and Limburg
. In Limburg it even managed to become the biggest party by a slim margin.
Due to population growth in Gelderland, the number of seats in the Gelderland States-Provincial increased from 53 to 55, accounting for the increase in the total number of seats from 564 to 566.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
on Wednesday 2 March 2011. Eligible voters elected the members of the States-Provincial
States-Provincial
The States'-Provincial is the provincial parliament and legislative assembly in each of the Provinces of the Netherlands. It is elected for each province simultaneously once every four years and has the responsibility for matters of sub-national or regional importance...
in the twelve provinces
Provinces of the Netherlands
A Dutch province represents the administrative layer in between the national government and the local municipalities, having the responsibility for matters of subnational or regional importance. The government of each province consists of three major parts: the Provinciale Staten which is the...
. These elections also indirectly determined
Indirect election
Indirect election is a process in which voters in an election don't actually choose between candidates for an office but rather elect persons who will then make the choice. It is one of the oldest form of elections and is still used today for many upper houses and presidents...
the members of the Senate, since the 566 members of the twelve States-Provincial elected the Senate's 75 members in the Senate election
Dutch Senate election, 2011
The elections of the Dutch Senate of 2011 were held on 23 May 2011, following the provincial elections on 2 March 2011. The 566 members of the twelve States-Provincial elected the 75 Senate members...
on 23 May 2011.
The Senate election and therefore the provincial elections are important, since the current Rutte cabinet had a minority in the Senate when it took office. The coalition and support parties hoped to gain a majority in the Senate through these elections, but failed to do so, obtaining 37 out of 75 seats. However, it is expected that the small Christian party SGP
Reformed Political Party
The Reformed Political Party is an orthodox Protestant Dutch political party. The term Reformed is not a reference to political reform, but is a synonym for Calvinist. The SGP is the oldest political party in the Netherlands in its current form, and for its entire existence has been in opposition...
, which obtained one seat, will support the cabinet.
On the same date, Island Council elections were held in the three public bodies of the Caribbean Netherlands. In the future, it is planned that the members of the Island Councils will also have a vote in the Senate election, but in 2011 this will not yet be the case because this requires a change in the Constitution
Constitution of the Netherlands
The Constitution of the Netherlands is the fundamental law of the European territory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The present constitution is generally seen as directly derived from the one issued in 1815, constituting a constitutional monarchy. A revision in 1848 instituted a system of...
.
Results
The right-liberal People's Party for Freedom and DemocracyPeople's Party for Freedom and Democracy
The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy is a conservative-liberal political party located in the Netherlands. The VVD supports private enterprise in the Netherlands and is often perceived as an economic liberal party in contrast to the social-liberal Democrats 66 alongside which it sits in...
, left-liberal D66
Democrats 66
Democrats 66 is a progressive and social-liberal political party in the Netherlands. D66 was formed in 1966 by a group of politically unaligned, young intellectuals, led by journalist Hans van Mierlo. The party's main objective was to democratise the political system; it proposed to create an...
, and right-wing Party for Freedom
Party for Freedom
The Party for Freedom is a Dutch right-wing political party. Founded in 2005 as the successor to Geert Wilders' one-man party in the House of Representatives, it won nine seats in the 2006 general election, making it the fifth largest party in parliament, and third largest opposition party. It...
made significant gains throughout the provinces. The Labor Party
Labour Party (Netherlands)
The Labour Party , is a social-democratic political party in the Netherlands. Since the 2003 Dutch General Election, the PvdA has been the second largest political party in the Netherlands. The PvdA was a coalition member in the fourth Balkenende cabinet following 22 February 2007...
stayed relatively stable, while the Socialist Party
Socialist Party
Socialist Party is the name of several different political parties around the world that are explicitly called Socialist. All of these parties claim to uphold socialism, though they might belong to different branches of the socialist movement and might therefore have different interpretations of...
suffered losses from their 2007 results. The Christian Democratic Appeal
Christian Democratic Appeal
The Christian Democratic Appeal is a centre-right Dutch Christian democratic political party. It suffered severe losses in the 2010 elections and fell from the first to the fourth place...
suffered big losses losing some 65 of their previous 151 provincial seats. However, the party didn't fare as bad as the polls suggested.
This was the first provincial elections that Geert Wilders
Geert Wilders
Geert Wilders is a Dutch right-wing politician and leader of the Party for Freedom , the third-largest political party in the Netherlands. He is the Parliamentary group leader of his party in the Dutch House of Representatives...
' Party for Freedom
Party for Freedom
The Party for Freedom is a Dutch right-wing political party. Founded in 2005 as the successor to Geert Wilders' one-man party in the House of Representatives, it won nine seats in the 2006 general election, making it the fifth largest party in parliament, and third largest opposition party. It...
participated in. The party managed to pick up seats in all of the Netherlands' provinces with its best results in the southern provinces of North Brabant
North Brabant
North Brabant , sometimes called Brabant, is a province of the Netherlands, located in the south of the country, bordered by Belgium in the south, the Meuse River in the north, Limburg in the east and Zeeland in the west.- History :...
and Limburg
Limburg
Limburg may refer to:A province divided between Belgium and the Netherlands as consequence of the Treaty of London* Province of Limburg , a former province of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
. In Limburg it even managed to become the biggest party by a slim margin.
National Results
| States-Provincial States-Provincial The States'-Provincial is the provincial parliament and legislative assembly in each of the Provinces of the Netherlands. It is elected for each province simultaneously once every four years and has the responsibility for matters of sub-national or regional importance... |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Political Party Political party A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions... |
2007 | 2011 | Change |
| People's Party for Freedom and Democracy People's Party for Freedom and Democracy The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy is a conservative-liberal political party located in the Netherlands. The VVD supports private enterprise in the Netherlands and is often perceived as an economic liberal party in contrast to the social-liberal Democrats 66 alongside which it sits in... |
102 | 112 | +10 |
| Labour Party Labour Party (Netherlands) The Labour Party , is a social-democratic political party in the Netherlands. Since the 2003 Dutch General Election, the PvdA has been the second largest political party in the Netherlands. The PvdA was a coalition member in the fourth Balkenende cabinet following 22 February 2007... |
114 | 107 | -7 |
| Christian Democratic Appeal Christian Democratic Appeal The Christian Democratic Appeal is a centre-right Dutch Christian democratic political party. It suffered severe losses in the 2010 elections and fell from the first to the fourth place... |
151 | 86 | -65 |
| Party for Freedom Party for Freedom The Party for Freedom is a Dutch right-wing political party. Founded in 2005 as the successor to Geert Wilders' one-man party in the House of Representatives, it won nine seats in the 2006 general election, making it the fifth largest party in parliament, and third largest opposition party. It... |
0 | 69 | +69 |
| Socialist Party Socialist Party (Netherlands) The Socialist Party is a democratic socialist political party in the Netherlands. After the 2006 general election, the Socialist Party became one of the major parties of the Netherlands with 25 seats of 150, an increase of 16 seats. The party was in opposition against the fourth Balkenende cabinet... |
83 | 56 | -27 |
| Democrats 66 Democrats 66 Democrats 66 is a progressive and social-liberal political party in the Netherlands. D66 was formed in 1966 by a group of politically unaligned, young intellectuals, led by journalist Hans van Mierlo. The party's main objective was to democratise the political system; it proposed to create an... |
9 | 42 | +33 |
| Green Left Green left The term Green left is used primarily to refer to a combination of environmentalism, feminism, socialism, and pacifism in countries where the term is used... |
33 | 34 | +1 |
| Christian Union | 38 | 24 | -14 |
| Reformed Political Party Reformed Political Party The Reformed Political Party is an orthodox Protestant Dutch political party. The term Reformed is not a reference to political reform, but is a synonym for Calvinist. The SGP is the oldest political party in the Netherlands in its current form, and for its entire existence has been in opposition... |
13 | 12 | -1 |
| 50PLUS 50PLUS 50PLUS is a Dutch political party. The party was founded in 2009 by Maurice Koopman, Alexander Münninghoff, and Jan Nagel, a politician formerly connected to the Dutch Labour Party and Leefbaar Nederland. Nagel is the party leader.... |
0 | 9 | +9 |
| Party for the Animals Party for the Animals The Party for the Animals is a political party in the Netherlands.Among its main goals are animal rights and animal welfare, though it claims not to be a single-issue party... |
8 | 7 | -1 |
| Frisian National Party Frisian National Party The Frisian National Party is a Frisian nationalist political party in the Netherlands. The FNP is mostly involved in Frisian politics... |
5 | 4 | -1 |
| Party for Zeeland Party for Zeeland The Party for Zeeland is a provincial political party in the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands. It is one of the largest independent provincial political parties of the Netherlands, and arose through an alliance between the ZVP and a number of local municipal political parties.... |
2 | 2 | 0 |
| Senior Party NH / United Senior Party | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Party for the North Party for the North The Party for the North is a regional political party in the Netherlands, representing the interests of the provinces of Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe... |
1 | 1 | 0 |
| Party New Limburg Party New Limburg The Party New Limburg is a provincial political party in the Dutch province of Limburg. It has no parliamentary representation, but it is linked to the Independent Senate Group.... |
1 | 0 | -1 |
| Beautiful Utrecht | 1 | 0 | -1 |
| other parties | 2 | 0 | -2 |
| Total | 564 | 566 | |
| Turnout | 46.3% | 55.9% |
Due to population growth in Gelderland, the number of seats in the Gelderland States-Provincial increased from 53 to 55, accounting for the increase in the total number of seats from 564 to 566.
External link
- Provinciale Statenverkiezingen 2011 States-Provincial Election 2011 from NRC Handelsblad (Dutch)