Volt launches election campaign with push for more Senate influence

Volt will hold a congress on Sunday that will focus on the elections for the Provincial Council and the Senate, the first of the young party. Seats in the Senate can increase its influence on national politics, given the likelihood that the current government parties will again fail to achieve a majority there. In that case, the coalition will have to seek support from other parties and Volt is one of the possible options. The pan-European party will choose and announce the list for the Senate elections and therefore also the party leader.

Furthermore, It is up to the members of Volt to decide which of the eleven proposed candidates will be on the list of candidates for the Senate and at what level. The young party may indicate who is most preferred and who is least preferred. The most popular candidate becomes the leader of the list. Then the most popular male and female candidates alternate on the list.

Party members will also vote on a proposal to amend the bylaws. Among other things, this should make it easier for the board to expel a member. Politicians who have won a seat in the House of Commons through Volt, for example, and then run for another list will also no longer be allowed to simply join the party. Both points are reminiscent of the Nilüfer Gündoğan case. The politician, who sat for Volt in the Tweede Kamer, left the party after allegations of cross-border behavior and continued as an independent Member of Parliament.

The Provincial Council elections will be held on March 15, and the congress functions as kickoff for them. Volt is represented in the provinces of Groningen, Drenthe, Overijssel, Noord- and Zuid- Holland, Utrecht, Gelderland, and Noord Brabant. However, residents of Friesland, Flevoland, Zeeland and Limburg cannot vote for the party. The party wants to focus on climate neutrality in 2040, more citizen participation and "practical and creative solutions to the housing shortage."

Overall, the outcome has consequences for the Senate elections that will take place on 30 May. Then the newly elected Members of Parliament will elect senators.