Former Tweede Kamer chair Arib quits parliament amid controversy

Former Tweede Kamer chair Khadija Arib is resigning as a Member of Parliament, she announced Saturday night. She said she was repeatedly, and anonymously stabbed in the back recently, prompting her departure, she wrote in a statement she posted on Twitter.

"As a Member of Parliament I have experienced a lot in the past 24 years, but never as much as in the past 48 hours. I am used to a lot, but the (anonymous) dagger thrusts of the last few days have made me no longer wish to remain as a Member of Parliament. I am prepare to endure a great delay, but everyone has their limit. This concerns attacks on my dignity," said the Labour parliamentarian.

Earlier this week, the executive board of the Tweede Kamer decided to investigate accusations that Arib’s behavior crossed several boundaries when she was the Tweede Kamer leader. The complaints were submitted in anonymous letters to the lower house of Parliament.

In the statement, Arib called it "incorrect constitutional law" that the board "ordered the state attorney to check on a sitting Member of Parliament outside the purview of the House.” She also called it "a dubious way of dealing with elected representatives. This action by the presidium is very damaging to citizens' trust in politics, which has already sunk to a low point."

She also stated that the board "with its actions has caused great damage to my functioning as a member of parliament and as chair of the temporary coronavirus committee. But also to the Tweede Kamer and to the democratic process." She believes the current leadership is guilty of abuse of power and politicized the means of investigation.

Earlier Saturday, a group of MPs announced that they wanted clarification from current Tweede Kamer chair Vera Bergkamp about the state of affairs surrounding the investigation into Arib. Bergkamp succeeded Arib to take over as chair.