Dutch general election, 2003
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A general election of the Tweede Kamer of the Dutch Parliament was held in the Netherlands on January 22, 2003.
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[edit] Background
The election was held after the resignation of the first Balkenende cabinet on October 16, 2002. It focused on the LPF, the new party of late Pim Fortuyn.
In the early days of the campaign the CDA of incumbent prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende and the VVD, the smallest coalition party, saw a major lead.
After TV debates the PvdA (which experienced a humiliating defeat in the 2002 general election) of opposition leader Wouter Bos caught up, overtaking the VVD and making a comeback. The PvdA also held a leadership election which got the party considerable attention.
[edit] Results
The LPF lost as spectacularly as it won in 2002, with its seat count dropping from 26 to 8 seats.
The exciting race of which party would become the greatest was eventually won by the CDA, who went from 43 to 44 seats, which meant a continuation of Balkenende’s career as prime minister.
The small parties on both the left and right side did not experience many changes. Several other parties (among them Leefbaar Nederland, a 2002 newcomer) didn’t manage to get over the threshold and thus gained no seats. They aren’t listed here.
After severe disagreements in the formation of a CDA-PvdA cabinet, a CDA-VVD-D66 cabinet was formed on May 27, 2003, with Balkenende as prime minister.
- See also: 2003 Dutch cabinet formation
[edit] National Summary
| Parties | Lijsttrekker | Votes | Seats | Vote % | Seat % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christian Democratic Appeal (Christen-Democratisch Appèl) | Jan Peter Balkenende | 2,763,480 | 44 | 28.6 | 29.3 |
| Labour Party (Partij van de Arbeid) | Wouter Bos | 2,631,363 | 42 | 27.3 | 28.0 |
| People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie) | Gerrit Zalm | 1,728,707 | 28 | 17.9 | 18.7 |
| Socialist Party (Socialistische Partij) | Jan Marijnissen | 609,723 | 9 | 6.3 | 6.0 |
| List Pim Fortuyn (Lijst Pim Fortuyn) | Mat Herben | 549,975 | 8 | 5.7 | 5.3 |
| GreenLeft (GroenLinks) | Femke Halsema | 495,802 | 8 | 5.1 | 5.3 |
| Democrats 66 (Democraten 66) | Thom de Graaf | 393,333 | 6 | 4.1 | 4.0 |
| Christian Union (ChristenUnie) | André Rouvoet | 204,694 | 3 | 2.1 | 2.0 |
| Political Reformed Party (Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij) | Bas van der Vlies | 150,305 | 2 | 1.6 | 1.3 |
| Total (turnout 80.0 %) | 9,654,475 | 150 | 98.7 | 100.0 | |
[edit] Parties
- Christian Democratic Appeal (Christen-Democratisch Appèl, CDA)
- Christian Union (ChristenUnie, CU)
- Democrats 66 (Democraten 66, D66)
- Green Left (GroenLinks, GL)
- Labour Party (Partij van de Arbeid, PvdA)
- List Pim Fortuyn (Lijst Pim Fortuyn, LPF)
- People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie, VVD)
- Political Reformed Party (Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij, SGP)
- Socialist Party (Socialistische Partij, SP)
[edit] Further reading
- Van Holsteyn, Joop J. M.; and Galen A. Irwin (January 2004). "The Dutch parliamentary elections of 2003". West European Politics 27 (1): 157-164.
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