Amsterdam spending €400,000 to increase turnout

The Amsterdam City Council plans to spend €400,000 to encourage ethnic minorities to vote in the local elections to be held in March 2014. Polling Station / Wikipediang Through its voter mobilization campaign, the city council wants to increase turnout in local elections to 65% from 50%, Parool reported. However, opposition parties have criticized the city’s campaign. Opposition parties D66 and CDA said that the money should be spent to encourage all people and not specific just ethnic minorities. Amsterdam Mayor Eberhard van der Laan said in a letter to the council that the city plans to "a specific approach for specific target groups." The city wants Laila Frank, former campaign employee of the Labour Party, and former political assistant of Labour councilor Freek Ossel.