Gorinchem election fraud probe: caregiver alleged to have taken elderly voting passes
It has become known that a home care worker linked to Multizorg Gorkum collected voting passes and passport photos from a vulnerable elderly couple in Gorinchem’s Gildenwijk neighborhood ahead of the municipal election. The case is one of multiple reported incidents involving voting passes from elderly residents, now central to a broader set of allegations of systematic vote harvesting that has led to a criminal complaint and an ordered rerun of the election.
On election day, an elderly man discovered his voting pass was missing shortly before he intended to vote in person. His wife, who receives in-home care, had earlier handed both voting passes to a caregiver who requested them, along with photos of their passports. According to the woman, the caregiver said the documents were needed to arrange proxy votes.
The couple’s case escalated into a domestic dispute after the man objected to his vote being used by proxy. Police were called to the apartment in Gildenwijk to de-escalate what was reported as a disturbance in the home, NRC reported. The caregiver allegedly involved has denied taking the voting passes and has not returned to the household since the incident.
The incident is one of several cited in Gorinchem involving the collection of voting passes ahead of the March 18 municipal elections. Residents reported that vulnerable individuals were approached at home, asked for voting documents, or advised on how to vote.
Copies of identification documents can be used to facilitate proxy voting, including the possibility of falsifying signatures on voting passes, creating the appearance that voters authorized someone else to vote on their behalf. The elderly man in the case said he never consented to a proxy and intended to vote himself.
Broader reporting by NRC, based on interviews with 26 people in Gorinchem, including current and former politicians and members of the Turkish community, describes what sources say is a long-running pattern of vote harvesting within parts of the city’s Turkish community.
Some sources told the newspaper that the practice has persisted for decades and has been treated locally as routine in parts of the political and community network. Community members reported phone calls and door-to-door visits beginning shortly after voting passes were distributed in mid-February. On election day, certain candidates received unusually high numbers of preference votes.
Former council member Ibrahim Elmaci said the practice has continued for years. “This issue has been going on for so many elections, but it really has to stop now,” he told NRC.
Elmaci said Mayor Reinie Melissant had been informed by him and others about alleged vote harvesting. He wrote on Facebook: “Now she can show whether she has the courage to tackle this issue properly for once.” He added: “Friends who know me know which candidates I am talking about. They help people with their paperwork and, in return, ask for their proxy/voting passes.”
An anonymous resident also told NRC that canvassers visited his home days before the election. “But I decide myself,” he said, adding that groups visited “all Turks in my apartment block,” asking how residents intended to vote and requesting voting passes.
NRC's sources described an alleged system in which local networks divided areas, collected voting passes in advance, and in some cases allegedly used copied identification to create or validate proxy votes. Proxies were reportedly distributed in sets of two per voter, the legal maximum, allowing individuals to cast multiple votes when combined with their own ballot.
Concerns about irregularities in Gorinchem date back to at least 2014, when researcher Harry van Haaften documented discrepancies between polling predictions and results and reported observations of group proxy voting and assistance inside polling stations. A prior report citing unusually high proxy use did not lead to action.
In the most recent election, some polling stations reported proxy votes accounting for one in four to one in five ballots. Two council members, Ali Kocak of Democraten Gorinchem and Ilhan Tekir of D66, received significant numbers of preference votes at those locations.
Tekir said during a council debate: “What should have been a celebration of democracy has unfortunately been overshadowed by serious suspicions about the legality of these elections.” He added, “It is not for the council to judge suspicions. That is for the police, the judiciary, and, if necessary, the courts.”
Kocak is widely described by residents as an informal “ombudsman” who assists with administrative matters such as benefits and tax forms. Four sources reportedly told NRC that such assistance was sometimes perceived as linked to expectations of electoral support or access to voting passes.
The municipal council ultimately voted to rerun the election following more than 10 reports of irregularities and a police and Public Prosecution Service investigation into alleged proxy voting abuse and voter solicitation. Mayor Melissant filed a criminal complaint and called the allegations sufficiently serious to warrant further action.
A revote in Gorinchem has been scheduled for April 29. The decision follows a narrow council vote in favor of a full rerun, 13 to 12. The current council will remain in place until the new election is completed, and candidate lists will remain unchanged.
On March 18, 15,854 residents voted in Gorinchem, with turnout at 51 percent. Authorities say the investigation into alleged election fraud may take months.
