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Dutch Elections, Anyone? 81 Parties Make It a Quandary

by Associated Press

   THE HAGUE --

   Peter Plasman showed up at the Netherlands' national electoral
   commission's offices Monday to register one of the more unusual parties
   bidding to take part in the upcoming Dutch election -- a party for
   people who don't vote.

   Plasman was hardly an exception when it came to flouting convention. A
   record 81 parties have expressed interest in taking part in the March
   15 parliamentary election. Monday was the day they all had to hand in
   their paperwork.
   Among the eclectic roster of potential players, there also is the
   Colorful Cow Party, which casts itself in part as an antidote to the
   fierce anti-Islam rhetoric of the Party for Freedom. Its website
   includes a recipe for a traditional Dutch mashed potato dish, prepared
   with Turkish sausages and Moroccan spices.
   Tiny splinter parties that tap into the Netherlands' long tradition of
   non-conformism could eat into the constituencies of the mainstream
   powerhouse parties of Liberal, Christian Democrat, anti-immigrant or
   Socialist bent.

   Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of the Netherlands attends the World
   Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 19, 2017.

   Tiny parties could make it interesting

   The real match-up is likely to be between the ruling People's Party of
   Freedom and Democracy -- the party of two-time Prime Minister Mark
   Rutte -- and the Party for Freedom fronted by firebrand Geert Wilders.
   But the tiny parties, if they manage to meet the electoral commission's
   criteria, will make for a colorful campaign.

   Plasman, a famous criminal defense lawyer, argues he wants to give
   non-voters a voice in Parliament. A quarter of the Dutch electorate
   didn't vote in 2012, and Plasman says they would have taken 37 of the
   legislature's 150 seats and been the biggest party if they had cast
   ballots as a unified bloc.
   So now, he wants the non-voters to vote -- for him. To honor their
   wishes, his party has a simple pledge: "We will never vote in
   parliament."

   Plasman's Niet Stemmers (Not Voters) party underscores a growing
   unease, even disgust, with politics as usual in a nation where the
   election system leads almost automatically to multi-party coalition
   governments and convoluted compromise decisions are the order of the
   day.
   "People want change. We need more influence on political matters,"
   Thierry Baudet of the pro-referendum Forum for Democracy party said.
   "Our voice is not being heard, so we want more referenda, more direct
   democracy."

   Netherlands' Party for Freedom leader Geert Wilders attends a news
   conference after a European far-right leaders meeting in Koblenz,
   Germany, Jan.21, 2017.

   Costly entry fee

   According to rules published by the electoral commission, parties must
   submit lists of candidates. If they are taking part in their first
   election or failed to win any seats last time around, they must pay a
   deposit of 11,250 euros ($12,000) and hand in declarations of support
   from each of the Netherlands' 20 electoral districts.

   That is easier said than done: one of the districts is the Caribbean
   island of Bonaire, located 8,000 kilometers (5,000 miles) away.

   The official list of parties that qualified to take part in the
   election will be announced Friday.