Resigned D66 member accuses party leader of abuse of power

D66 councilor in Meppel Anne Lok resigned from the city council and left the party over a relationship she had with D66 leader Alexander Pechtold. In her resignation letter she made strong accusations against Pechtold, including of abuse of power and misconduct, AD reports.

"As you undoubtedly know from the popular weekly magazines, I had an affective relationship with the leader of my party, Alexander Pechtold. You will also have learned that this relationship ended in a very painful way for me", Lok wrote in her resignation letter, according to the newspaper.

"Meanwhile, it has come to the point that Mr. Pechtold, in reaction to those publications, threatens to commit character assassination on me through the same kind of medium, to put me away as unstable and disturbed", Lok wrote. "It also seems to me that if I want to defend myself against this publicity by showing his abuse, misconduct and opportunism, he will prosecute me for violating the secret of correspondence or something like that."

Lok is convinced that she will soon be defamed to such an extent that she will no longer be able to function as a city councilor with any credibility, according to AD. For that reason she submitted her resignation on Tuesday night. "I wish to leave your council with my head held high", she wrote.

In reaction, Pechtold said that he does not recognize himself in the images Lok is sketching. He also regrets her decision to resign.

D66 faction leader in Meppel, Letty Demmers, will refrain from commenting on the issue and refers questions to the parliamentary faction, a spokesperson said to the newspaper.