Volt expels Nilüfer Gündoğan from parliamentary faction

Volt officially expelled Nilüfer Gündoğan from its parliamentary faction, party leader Laurens Dassen said. The faction voted on this in a meeting on Tuesday. Gündoğan was allowed to vote but was not physically present. According to her lawyer Geert-Jan Knoops, she sent a letter in which she voted against her expulsion. Dassen confirmed that. It did not alter the outcome. She was in the minority in the three-member faction.

The MPs voted on an amendment to the faction's rules that, according to the party, made it possible to expel her from the faction. If she holds onto her parliamentary seat, as she seems to intend, she will also be expelled from the party. The board will decide on this on Monday.

According to Dassen, the political relationship with Gündoğan was "permanently disrupted," and mediation was no longer helpful. He believes that in her response to an NRC article about the allegations against her, she downplayed the situation and spoke derogatorily about the reporters. He also held against her that she told television program Jinek that she did not intend to withdraw her charges against Dassen and the party, as the party demanded, but will even expand them.

Gündoğan herself has not yet commented on the faction's decision. Knoops said that there is no legal basis for her expulsion, as far as he is concerned. He did not want to comment further on the matter. "She voted against with a reasoned letter today," is all he said.

He referred to a statement Gündoğan published on Monday. In it, she said that she believes that the party cannot expel her. "According to the judge, I should have been given unimpeded access to the faction." She referred to a ruling following Volt's first attempt to expel her from the faction. The court ordered the party to reconsider because it "took the wrong path too expeditiously."

Dassen said that this is "not a good time for anyone" and that he wants to evaluate the way things are going. "I blame myself that we didn't intervene sooner," he said after the meeting. He has no intention of stepping down as party leader, and he does not expect a split in the party, he said.