Nilüfer Gündogan not returning to parliament after election

Nilüfer Gündogan will not return to the Tweede Kamer after the parliamentary election in November, she said on X, formerly Twitter. According to the independent parliamentarian, there’s not enough time for her to set up a party and run in the election.

“With the fall of the Cabinet, I knew that new elections would mean the end of my membership in parliament,” Gündogan said. “It is simply impossible to create a vital and promising own movement from scratch in a few months. As a result, the choice was made for me.”

Gündogan said she “made peace” with her departure from the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of the Dutch parliament, and will look for “other ways to engage in the social debate.”

Gündogan entered parliament as an MP for Volt, but the party expelled her last year after reports of transgressive behavior. She continued as an independent parliamentarian. Gündogan fought her expulsion, also accusing the party of libel and slander, and after several court rulings, the legal battle is still ongoing.

“The court’s constitutional judgment this year does not detract from the libel and slander that have been used to induce me to relinquish my seat in parliament,” Gündogan said in her statement on Wednesday. “I will provide the legal evidence for this and continue to do so until my name is cleared. I am doing this for myself and also for anyone who may be affected by this and who may have less strength to fight.”