THE HAGUE - At the start of her six-day working visit to Aruba, Curaçao, and Bonaire, Member of the Dutch Parliament Jorien Wuite called on voters on the islands to cast their vote in the Senate elections on 15 March. In addition to the elections of the Provincial Council, Island Council, and Electoral Colleges Bonaire, St. Eustatius, and Saba, this year, for the first time, the Electoral College for Dutch nationals outside the Netherlands will also be able to influence the composition of the Senate.
Wuite: “The choices made by politicians in The Hague also affect Dutch people who do not currently live in the Netherlands. This includes consular services, banking, dual nationality, and pensions. For the Caribbean Countries in the Kingdom, this influence is of particular importance because of the treatment of Kingdom laws, including all kinds of international treaties. That is why I am pleased that partly thanks to D66, people outside the Netherlands can now also help decide on what the Senate will look like in the future. Sign up so we can make our voices heard from the Caribbean on March 15!”
Dutch people over the age of eighteen who are not excluded from the right to vote and who live abroad can register until 1 February via www.stemvanuithetbuitenland.nl. Residents of Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten must have lived in the Netherlands for at least 10 years or be employed in the Dutch public service. Registration is also required for those who have previously registered, for example for parliamentary elections.
In the coming days, Jorien Wuite will visit and speak with various politicians, private and public sector NGOs, and citizens in Aruba, Curaçao, and Bonaire. The themes that will be discussed in addition to the upcoming elections are cooperation between the Netherlands and the Caribbean islands, poverty, and human rights, the climate, and apologies for the slavery past.