Denk party leadership resigns amid dispute with parliamentary leader

The entire leadership board of the Dutch political party Denk has resigned following a public dispute with parliamentary leader Stephan van Baarle, the party announced Sunday. The move comes days after Van Baarle unexpectedly withdrew as the party’s lead candidate for the upcoming elections, AD reported.

Van Baarle, a Rotterdam native, pulled out Thursday evening after a dispute with the party board over the candidates list. Until his withdrawal, he had been formally nominated in June to serve again as lead candidate for the elections scheduled for October 29.

In a statement, Denk said the resignation is intended “to lay the foundation for the proper conditions in which the upcoming elections will be prepared.” The announcement also noted that “agreements have been made for a definitive solution for the situation that has arisen.”

Local Denk branches and all staff of the party’s Tweede Kamer faction had called for the board to step down in two separate statements, urging Van Baarle to return as lead candidate.