Farmers BBB may win local elections, win 17 Senate seats

Protest groups called on farmers to turn their flags in the right direction again. Photo: ANP/Jeffrey Groeneweg

The Peasants BBB could win 17 seats in the new Dutch Senate, two more than expected in initial exit polls.

With 94% of the vote, the BBB is confirmed to be the largest party in nine of the twelve states, with a commanding lead in Gelderland. In North Holland the party is slightly ahead of her VVD, while GroenLinks has a slight lead in Utrecht.

The results set back government efforts to buy out farmers to reduce nitrogen emissions in order to comply with European conservation laws.

Since the State Council ruled in 2019 that the government would be bound by restrictions, the state has been unable to issue environmental permits for large-scale projects such as housing developments, highways and port facilities.

BBB leader Caroline van der Plas said her vote for her party was more than a protest against the nitrogen plan, which has led to mass protests in rural areas. Farmers hung the Dutch tricolor upside down, blocked distribution centers and forced tractors into the center and capital of The Hague.

“People feel invisible, unheard, unheard,” she said. “They thought. Now it’s our turn. They’ve done it by voting in unison at the ballot box.”

The BBB’s share of the vote was nearly even with GroenLinks and the Labor Party (PvdA), two left-wing parties projected to win 15 seats in the Senate.

While this would allow them to supply the votes to give the government a majority in the Senate, political parties are expected to put pressure on the Cabinet to accelerate the transition to green energy.

“Now we have a choice in the Senate. Will they go left or will they go right?” said Jesse Klaver, leader of GroenLinks. “We will make good suggestions, but we will do everything in Congress to block the law if necessary and ensure that they turn left.”

The BBB won 33.5% of the vote in Drenthe and 31% in Overijssel, winning 17 seats in each parliament, while no other party took more than four seats. It is also expected to win by overwhelming margins in the provinces of Gelderland and North Brabant, where the livestock industry is concentrated.

All coalition parties lost seats, with Mark Rutte’s VVD party finishing third with 10 seats, two fewer than in 2019. (CDA), many traditional local voters defected to his BBB, potentially losing his four of nine seats.

Animal rights group PvdD is expected to win four seats, while two newcomers, pro-European Volt and far-right JA21, could win two and three seats respectively.

The biggest loser was far-right Forum voor Democratie, who won 14.3% of the vote in 2019. 12 senators absent.

The two groups behind the tractor protests, Farmers Defense Force and Agractie, called on farmers to: Celebrate your results with the Dutch flag overheadwith a red stripe on the top.

FDF’s Sieta van Keimpema said, “People have shown that they support the farmers, not the coalition.”

“We will switch the flag back, but if there is no movement or if we form a left-wing coalition in the Senate, it will probably switch again,” rancher Rene Stahl told the NOS.

12 states and their results

Drenthe
Capital: Assen
Council seats: 41
Current coalition: VVD, GroenLinks, PvdA, CDA, ChristenUnie
website (Dutch only)

Top 5 local elections for 2023
BBB 33.5%
PvdA 9.4% (-4.7)
VVD 7.7% (-5.3)
CDA 5.9% (-4.6)
GL 5.6% (-2.7)

Flevoland
Capital: Lelystad
Council seats: 40
Current Alliance: VVD, GroenLinks, PvdA, CDA, ChristenUnie, D66
website (Dutch only)

Top 5 local elections for 2023
BBB 20.8%
VVD 9.9% (-3.3)
PVV 7.7% (-1.6)
PvdA 7.6% (-0.6)
GL 6.9% (-1.6)

friesland
Capital: Leeuwarden
Council seats: 49
Current coalition: VVD, PvdA, CDA, FNP (Frisian Nationalists)
website (Dutch and Frisian)

Top 5 local elections for 2023
BBB 28%
PvdA 10.6% (-2.8)
CDA 8.7% (-8)
FNP 8% (+0.1)
VVD 6.8% (-2.6)

Gelderland
Capital: Arnhem
Council seats: 55
Current coalition: VVD, GroenLinks, PvdA, CDA, ChristenUnie
website (Dutch, English, German)

Top 5 local elections for 2023
BBB 23.8%
VVD 10% (-4)
PvdA 8.8% (+0.5)
GL 8% (-2.8)
CDA 7% (-4.6)

groningen
Capital: Groningen
Council seats: 43
Current Alliance: VVD, GroenLinks, PvdA, CDA, ChristenUnie, D66
website (Dutch only)

Top 5 local elections for 2023
BBB 23.6%
PvdA 10% (-2)
GL 9.6% (-2.9)
CU 6.3% (-3.1)
VVD 5.7% (-2.8)

Limburg
Capital: Maastricht
Council seats: 47
Current Union: VVD, GroenLinks, PvdA, CDA, D66, EENLokaal
website (Dutch only)

Top 5 local elections for 2023
BBB 18.3%
PVV 12.7% (-0.8)
VVD 9.5% (-0.7)
CDA 9.2% (-9.5)
GL 8.7% (+0.3)

North Brabant
Capital city: Den Bosch
Council seats: 55
Current Union: VVD, GroenLinks, PvdA, CDA, D66
website (Dutch and English)

Top 5 local elections for 2023
BBB 18.2%
VVD 14.1% (-2.1)
GL 7.7% (-1)
PvdA 7.6% (+1.2)
SP 7.6% (-1.6)

North Holland
State capital: Harlem
Council seats: 55
Current Union: VVD, GroenLinks, PvdA, D66
website Dutch and English

2023 Local Election Top 5 (Tentative)
BBB 14%
VVD 12.9% (-1.6)
GL 11% (-4.5)
PvdA 10.9% (+1.1)
D66 7.3% (-2.7)

Overijssel
Capital: Zwolle
Council seats: 47
Current Alliance: CDA, VVD, PvdA, ChristenUnie, SGP
website (Dutch only)

Top 5 local elections for 2023
BBB 31.3%
CDA 8.2% (-8.9)
VVD 8% (-4.9)
GL 7.6% (-1.9)
PvdA 6.7% (-1.8)

Utrecht
Capital city: Utrecht
Council seats: 49
Current Union: VVD, GroenLinks, PvdA, D66, ChristenUnie
website (Dutch and English)

2023 Local Election Top 5 (Tentative)
GL 13.3% (-3.5)
BBB 13.1%
VVD 11.9% (-3.5)
D66 9.6% (-0.2)
PvdA 8% (-0.4)

Zeeland
Capital City: Middelburg
Council seats: 39
Current Union: VVD, PvdA, CDA, SGP
website (Dutch only)

Top 5 local elections for 2023
BBB 19.7%
GL/PvdA 13.4% (-0.8)
SGP 12.5% ​​(+0.4)
CDA 11.4% (-4.9)
VVD 8.9 (-1.4)

South Holland
Capital city: The Hague
Council seats: 55
Current Unions: VVD, GroenLinks, PvdA, CDA, SGP/ChristenUnie
(website) Dutch only

BBB 13.7%
VVD 12.9% (-2.8)
GL 9.7% (+0.6)
D66 8% (-0.5)
PvdA 6.9% (-0.9)