Today Dutch citizens can vote for their national parliament, the Tweede Kamer. So I thought Id start a thread about it.
The Tweede Kamer has 150 seats and is elected by a system of proportional voting. To get into the parliament a party has to have at least 1/150 of the total votes. About 12 million people are entitled to vote, so the minimum amounts to about 80.000 votes.
Some of the major issues that play a role during the election:
- Dutch participation in the ISAF mission in Afghanistan. Was originally scheduled to end in 2010. A prolongation of this mission led to the collapse of the previous government.
- Raising the age for retirement. Its currently 65 but the government and several opposition parties wanted to raise it to 67 to address problems with the welfare state.
- The financial crisis and the way to solve it
- Issues relating to immigration, integration and the Muslim population of the Netherlands
Ive tried to look up articles that summarize the party positions in this election in English, but theyre hard to find. This one from Reuters is a bit old, but I think its fairly accurate:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE61J0DA20100221
For some more background info of the Dutch political parties I present you with an article from a Dutch newspaper and two blog entries by an American lady living in the Netherlands.
http://www.nrc.nl/international/ele...8.ece/A_primer_on_the_Dutch_political_parties
http://www.transparent.com/dutch/dutch-political-parties/
http://www.transparent.com/dutch/dutch-political-parties-part-two/
So my fellow Dutch citizens at this forum, whats you opinion on the elections and which party will you vote for today (if at all)?
Do the non-Dutch folks here at Dimensons have an opinion on the Dutch election? Are you following it?
The Tweede Kamer has 150 seats and is elected by a system of proportional voting. To get into the parliament a party has to have at least 1/150 of the total votes. About 12 million people are entitled to vote, so the minimum amounts to about 80.000 votes.
Some of the major issues that play a role during the election:
- Dutch participation in the ISAF mission in Afghanistan. Was originally scheduled to end in 2010. A prolongation of this mission led to the collapse of the previous government.
- Raising the age for retirement. Its currently 65 but the government and several opposition parties wanted to raise it to 67 to address problems with the welfare state.
- The financial crisis and the way to solve it
- Issues relating to immigration, integration and the Muslim population of the Netherlands
Ive tried to look up articles that summarize the party positions in this election in English, but theyre hard to find. This one from Reuters is a bit old, but I think its fairly accurate:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE61J0DA20100221
For some more background info of the Dutch political parties I present you with an article from a Dutch newspaper and two blog entries by an American lady living in the Netherlands.
http://www.nrc.nl/international/ele...8.ece/A_primer_on_the_Dutch_political_parties
http://www.transparent.com/dutch/dutch-political-parties/
http://www.transparent.com/dutch/dutch-political-parties-part-two/
So my fellow Dutch citizens at this forum, whats you opinion on the elections and which party will you vote for today (if at all)?
Do the non-Dutch folks here at Dimensons have an opinion on the Dutch election? Are you following it?
