THE HAGUE - Farmers’ party BBB is going back on an election promise not to have any of its members fill more than one function, a spokesperson for the party confirmed to NOS after reports by AD. The party did so well in the Provincial Council and water board elections that it may not be possible for the BBB to fill all seats if its members are only allowed to sit on one body. 

There are BBB members who were candidates for different bodies. The BBB wanted to prevent them from simultaneously being members of a Provincial Council and the Senate, which is elected by the Provincial Councils, or of a water board and the Senate. It is not legally possible to hold a seat on a water board and a Provincial Council at the same time. 

The BBB will continue to strive for no double functions, the spokesperson told NOS. But he thinks it will be impossible to fill all the seats the BBB won without some members combining Senate duties with a seat on either a Provincial Council or a water board. The party doesn’t want to leave seats unoccupied. The BBB is still figuring out exactly how to distribute its members across the seats. 

The party had counted on an election victory but never expected how massive it would be, the spokesperson said. About 140 BBB members have been elected for the various water boards and Provincial Councils. And the latest ANP prognosis is that the BBB will soon also occupy 17 seats in the Eerste Kamer, the Dutch Senate. The Provincial Councils will elect the Senate on May 30, and while councilors aren’t obliged to vote for a candidate from their own party, it almost always happens. 

The BBB spokesperson also pointed out that other parties also have candidates who hold positions in various bodies.