Voting for the European elections gets underway in the Netherlands

The Netherlands also goes to the polls today to vote in the European elections. Nearly 13 million voters are registered to elect 25 Dutch MEPs for the Strasbourg parliament. Voter participation, however, is not expected to top 40 per cent. Turnout in 2004 was 39 per cent.

A recent poll has predicted the Christian Democrats of Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende will get fourteen per cent of the vote. The CDA’s governing coalition partner, the Labour Party, is expected to come home with around 12 per cent. 18 per cent of voters, however, are said to be “undecided”.

The far-right Party for Freedom is also expected to make an impact this time around with its anti-immigration, anti-European stance. Leader Geert Wilders said: “We want more of the Netherlands and less of Europe. These billions must come back to the Netherlands. It is no longer a question of giving them to French and Polish farmers or for new Romanian or Portuguese motorways.”

After receiving 3.2 per cent of the vote in 2004, the Animal Party is once again standing for selection. On Monday, supporters planted 6000 wooden crosses in the sand to commemorate the number of wild boars killed by hunters.

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tags: European elections, Netherlands