Dutch general election, 2002

Dutch general election, 2002

1998 ← May 15, 2002 → 2003

All 150 seats to the House of Representatives 76 seats were needed for a majority   First party Second party Third party   Leader Jan Peter Balkenende Pim Fortuyn (Assassinated) Hans Dijkstal Party CDA LPF VVD Leader since 2001 2002 1998 Last election 29 seats, 18,3% First Election 38 seats, 24,7% Seats won 43 26 24 Seat change +14 +26 -14 Popular vote 2.653.723 1.614.801 1.466.722 Percentage 27,9% 17,0% 15,5%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Ad Melkert Paul Rosenmöller Jan Marijnissen Party PvdA GL SP Leader since 2001 1994 1988 Last election 45 seats, 29,0% 11 seats, 7,3% 5 seats, 3.5% Seats won 23 10 9 Seat change −22 -1 +4 Popular vote 1.436.023 660.692 560.447 Percentage 15,1% 7.0% 5,9%   Seventh party Eighth party Ninth party   Leader Thom de Graaf Kars Veling Bas van der Vlies Party D66 CU SGP Leader since 1998 2001 1986 Last election 14 seats, 9,0% 5 seats, 3,3% 3 seats, 1,8% Seats won 7 4 2 Seat change -7 -1 -1 Popular vote 484,317 240,953 163.562 Percentage 5.1% 2.5% 1,7%

Seats

Prime Minister before election Wim Kok PvdA Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende CDA

General elections were held in the Netherlands on 15 May 2002. The elections were amongst the most dramatic in Dutch history, not just in terms of the electoral results, as they was completely overshadowed by the assassination of politician Pim Fortuyn only nine days before election day. Fortuyn's party made a huge leap from nothing to 17% of the seats, making it the second largest party. Fortuyn had especially attacked immigration policies and also questioned many aspects of government by the previous 'purple' cabinets of Wim Kok, which he blamed for everything from crime to waiting lists in health services.

Result

The great losers of the election were Labour Party, People's Party for Freedom and Democracy and Democrats 66, the coalition parties of the 'purple' cabinets. Especially the Labour Party under the technocratic leadership of Ad Melkert suffered a landslide defeat.

The Christian Democratic Appeal was the surprising winner of the election, gaining 14 seats (from 29 to 43) and becoming the largest party in the House of Representatives. This success is in part owed to its new leader Jan Peter Balkenende, who went on to become prime minister, and to its neutral attitude in the debate with Fortuyn, not having participated in the supposed ‘demonization’ by the political Left.

Another party making its debut in the House of Representatives was Livable Netherlands.

The 15 May 2002 election was the beginning of a year of political chaos in the Netherlands following the LPF leader's assassination on 6 May the same year. The power vacuum resulted in violent internal conflicts in LPF, which eventually led to the fall of the first Balkenende cabinet (CDA-LPF-VVD), which governed from 22 July 2002 to 16 October 2002. The CDA once again became a coalition party after eight years in opposition (1994-2002) in a government which, however, became the shortest-ruling Dutch cabinet since the Second World War, lasting less than five months.

Party	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
Christian Democratic Appeal	2,653,723	27.9	43	+14
Pim Fortuyn List	1,614,801	17.0	26	New
People's Party for Freedom and Democracy	1,466,722	15.4	24	–14
Labour Party	1,436,023	15.1	23	–22
GreenLeft	660,692	7.0	10	–1
Socialist Party	560,447	5.9	9	+4
Democrats 66	484,317	5.1	7	–7
ChristianUnion	240,953	2.5	4	–1
Reformed Political Party	163,562	1.7	2	–1
Livable Netherlands	153,055	1.6	2	New
Free Indian Party and Elderly Union	39,005	0.4	0	New
United Seniors Party	10,033	0.1	0	New
Durable Netherlands	9,058	0.1	0	New
Party for the Future	6,393	0.1	0	New
New Middle Party	2,305	0.0	0	New
Republican People's Party	63	0.0	0	New
Invalid/blank votes	15,074	–	–	–
Total	9,515,226	100	150	0
Registered voters/turnout	12,035,935	79.1	–	–
Source: Nohlen & Stöver, European Elections Database

Further reading

• Van Holsteyn, Joop J. M.; and Galen A. Irwin (April 2003). "Never a dull moment: Pim Fortuyn and the Dutch parliamentary election of 2002". West European Politics 26 (2): 41–86. doi:10.1080/01402380512331341101.