Forum for Democracy participates in the municipal elections in four of the twelve Drenthe municipalities. The party is joining forces in Emmen, Hoogeveen, Assen and Midden-Drenthe. It is not yet known who can vote for. The electoral lists will be announced later this month.
It is the second time that FvD is on the municipal ballot paper in Drenthe. The party already participated in the 2022 elections in Emmen and Hoogeveen. This yielded one and two seats respectively. It is the first time that participation is now also taking place in Assen and Midden-Drenthe.
The party’s website reports that participation has already been confirmed in at least 100 municipalities. That is a doubling compared to 2022. The current number could increase further.
Forum’s presence in the Emmen municipal council was short-lived. In December, councilor Robart de Jong broke with Forum and continued independently under the new name Hart voor Emmen. De Jong indicated at the time that he no longer had confidence in the national party. In part because of ‘unfortunate and unqualified statements’ about, among other things, the war in Ukraine.
De Jong also concluded that he can be held personally responsible for mismanagement or poor performance of the national party.
In Hoogeveen, Arjan Kleine and Vincent Vos joined the council in 2022. Vos, also active as a committee member on behalf of the provincial faction, does not yet want to confirm their candidacy for the next election. “The electoral lists will be announced by the end of this month,” he said in a response. No further announcements will be made until then.