Election results across the north: left wing and local parties perform well

Translation by Traci White

Groningen

Formerly Groningen, Ten Boer, Haren

Dagblad van het Noorden reports that GroenLinks came out on top in Groningen, securing no fewer than 11 seats. Four of those seats likely came at D66’s expense, going from 9 seats to 5. The Labour Party secured the second most seats in Groningen – 6 – and the traditionally strong Socialist Party lost one seat (now down to 5) compared to the last municipal elections in 2014. The VVD reclaimed one seat. City-level parties Stad en Ommeland, 100% Groningen and Student en Stad all earned seats in the council: Stad en Ommeland has 2, 100% Groningen has 2 and Student en Stad has 1. The issues the parties will need to find consensus on include the role of government subsidies at Groningen Airport Eelde (GroenLinks and the Labour Party are both in favour of selling municipal shares), accessibility for public transportation and green energy sources.

Het Hogeland

Formerly De Marne, Winsum, Bedum, Eemsmond

Gemeentebelangen is the biggest party in the new municipality with 8 votes, followed closely by the CDA with 6 seats. The Labour Party and ChristenUnie both earned 4 seats, but D66 and another local party, Lokaal Centraal, did not earn enough votes for a single seat in the new council. GroenLinks earned 3 and the SP earned 2. Two voters reported that the ballots they received did not include GroenLinks and Lokaal Centraal, but they were provided with complete ballots when they notified the voting monitors. The biggest issues that the coalition parties will have to see eye to eye on are greener energy sources and striking a balance between attracting tourists and maintaining quality of life for locals.

Westerkwartier

Formerly Zuidhorn, Grootegast, Marum, Leek

Local party VZ Westerkwartier, which was founded to compete with the traditional voting bloc of the PvdA and CDA, performed very well in the new municipality, securing 6 seats and tying with ChristenUnie for the most seats. CDA and Groenlinks both won 5 seats, the Labour Party won 4 and the VVD won 3. Another local party, Sterk Westerkwartier, will have two seats in the Westerkwartier council, and D66 and 50PLUS will have one seat apiece. Depending on which parties enter a ruling coalition, issues such as permitting newly built homes to connect to the natural gas grid and the future of industrial farming in the municipality.

Noardeast-Fryslân

Formerly Dongerdeel, Ferwerderadiel, Kollumerland

The Leeuwarder Courant reports that the CDA and the FNP (Frisian National Party) came out with the lion’s share of the seats in their elections: CDA won 7 and FNP won 5. Both parties were concerned that newcomer local parties like ELP and S!N would win a share of their votes, and both parties did earn seats in the council, but fewer than the larger parties feared: ELP won 1 and S!N won 4. The ecologically-focused Waddenpartij did not earn enough votes to secure a seat in the council. The coalition parties will likely focus on stimulating entrepreneurship, affordable housing and urban planning for aging populations.