Gorinchem finalizes rerun election results; Democraten remain largest party

The final results of a rerun municipal election in Gorinchem were confirmed Thursday during a public session at City Hall. The local party Democraten Gorinchem again emerged as the largest, repeating its March 18 result.

The rerun was ordered after authorities received multiple reports of irregularities in the original election, including allegations that voters were pressured at home and by phone to provide proxy voting rights and concerns about possible misuse of proxy ballots.

Police and the Public Prosecution Service are still investigating whether electoral fraud occurred.

Turnout in the rerun stood at 47 percent, slightly lower than the 51 percent recorded in the March 18 election. The overall seat distribution remained largely unchanged.

Democraten Gorinchem holds seven seats, followed by Stadsbelang Gorinchem with four seats. D66 dropped from one to two seats, while CDA gained one seat, reaching two as well.

Officials have also examined reports that a candidate appeared multiple times at a polling station on election day, each time accompanied by voters carrying proxy votes. The candidate's identity has not been disclosed.

Earlier reporting by NRC described allegations involving proxy voting pressure in private homes, including a case in which a caregiver was accused of taking voting passes from an elderly resident.

The caregiver has denied taking the documents and has not returned to the household since the incident. The elderly man involved said he never consented to a proxy vote and intended to vote himself.

The reporting also described broader allegations from interviews with residents and political figures in Gorinchem about what some sources characterized as long-running patterns of vote harvesting within parts of the city’s Turkish community.

Residents reported door-to-door visits and phone calls shortly after voting passes were distributed, with some saying they were asked for voting documents or guidance on voting behavior.

Former council member Ibrahim Elmaci said the practice had continued for years and needed to stop, while Mayor Reinie Melissant was informed of the allegations and called for serious scrutiny.

Proxy voting in the Netherlands allows a person to vote on behalf of another person, with a maximum of two proxies per voter.

Authorities have said concerns include the possible use of copied identification documents and falsified signatures to facilitate proxy voting. The municipality warned ahead of the election that soliciting proxies is a punishable offense.

On election day, multiple polling stations reported irregularities, including unusually high numbers of proxy votes in some locations.

Earlier concerns about irregular voting practices in Gorinchem date back several election cycles, according to prior reporting, though no final legal conclusions have been reached.