Mayor Erik van Merrienboer (PvdA) of Terneuzen is permanently leaving after a conflict over an asylum seekers’ center. The King’s Commissioner in Zeeland, Hugo de Jonge, reported this in an email late Tuesday evening message on LinkedInafter a closed meeting of the Terneuzen municipal council. “Today it has become clear that Mayor Merrienboer stands by his earlier decision,” De Jonge wrote.
During this closed meeting, De Jonge tried to find a solution with the council to the long-standing issue about the arrival of an asylum seeker center in the Zeeland municipality. “We had an open, honest and, above all, constructive conversation with the Terneuzen city council tonight. And that is exactly what Terneuzen needs now,” said De Jonge.
Van Merrienboer announced his departure last week in a letter to the municipal council. In it he spoke of “a breach of confidence” in the cooperation with the council and of “an almost impossible administrative split”. De Jonge had previously “urgently requested” the mayor not to resign, but Van Merrienboer stuck to his decision. He was also absent from Tuesday’s closed meeting of the city council.
Conflict about asylum seekers’ center
Van Merrienboer advocated the arrival of an asylum seekers’ center, but announced his departure because a majority of aldermen and the municipal council are against the arrival of the center. For a long time it looked as if Terneuzen was in favor of the arrival of the asylum seekers’ center, because the municipality wanted to comply with the dispersal law.
The asylum seekers’ center was supposed to be located in a former office, but when the permit was applied for in February, residents protested. They collected signatures and sent letters to the city council. A ‘face book’ surfaced on social media, in which council members who had voted for the asylum seekers’ center were depicted as rats.
When the municipal council finally voted against the arrival of the asylum seekers’ center, Van Merrienboer submitted his resignation. In it he also raised the question of whether councilors had been put under pressure to vote against the arrival of the asylum seekers’ center. King’s Commissioner De Jonge also received signals about this. “As the King’s Commissioner, it is my job to ensure that local government functions properly. If integrity, care or manageability is at stake, the commissioner steps in. And there is reason for concern on those points,” De Jonge wrote on LinkedIn.
According to De Jonge, it was therefore necessary to enter into discussions, including about the pressure that municipal councilors have experienced. “In a community culture like in Terneuzen, politics and society are close to each other. Sometimes that society comes so close to your skin that it can get under your skin,” says De Jonge.
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After ‘extreme pressure’ on council members to vote against asylum seekers’ center, the mayor resigns
Acting mayor
The commissioner will consult with the aldermen and faction leaders on Thursday about an acting mayor. De Jonge wants to nominate a candidate on December 16, who will start in early 2026.
According to De Jonge, he must, among other things, “get that asylum seekers’ center file into calm waters and bring it to a successful conclusion.” The permit for the asylum seeker center has not yet been definitively refused. Those involved can respond to the intention for six weeks. Terneuzen then has to make a decision.
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