D66 MP Sjoerdsma latest to announce departure; JA21's Nanninga running for MP

Sjoerd Sjoerdsma will not return to parliament after the upcoming election, the D66 member announced on social media on Monday. Annabel Nanninga would like to take a seat in the Tweede Kamer and has announced her candidacy to run with JA21. She is currently leading the JA21 faction in the Senate.

Sjoerdsma has been a parliamentarian for D66 since 2012, working on the foreign affairs file, among others. “It was a great honor to be a member of parliament on behalf of D66 for eleven years,” Sjoerdsma said in a letter posted on X, formerly Twitter. He did not explain his decision to leave.

The D66 member is still “optimistic” even though he realizes that “our democracy is not invulnerable,” he said. “I am also leaving because I’m still optimistic and full of confidence,” Sjoerdsma said. “I like to stay that way, and that’s why it’s time for me to do something different.”

Sjoerdsma was campaign leader during the previous parliamentary elections when his party, with Sigrid Kaag as leader, won 24 seats. China implemented sanctions against Sjoerdsma over his vocal criticism of the country’s treatment of the Uyghur people, labeling it genocide, according to ANP. Russia also blacklisted the MP.

Annabel Nanninga

Nanninga confirmed on X that she applied to be on JA21’s list of candidates for the parliamentary election in November. “And no, I don’t want to become party leader. The rest is up to the selection committee,” she said.

Several sources in national politics told NU.nl that not all JA21 members are happy with Nanninga’s ambitions. Some think it a bad idea for her to leave her position as JA21 leader in the Senate early to become a parliamentarian. According to the newspaper, members also worry about her harsh stance on migration.

However, one source noted that the party has few alternatives. Several prominent figures from JA21, including Nicki Pouw-Verweij and Derk Jan Eppink, criticized the party’s course earlier this year. Pouw-Verweij and Eppink have already said that they wouldn’t stand for re-election, according to the newspaper.