Internationals in the Netherlands should take advantage of their democratic right to vote, writes DutchNews.nl editor Robin Pascoe.

It was extremely irritating in September 2012 to watch my husband and two sons head off to the polling station to cast their votes in the general election.

There I was: a taxpayer, a home owner and an entrepreneur with no vote, simply because, after 30 years, I still don’t see why I should stop being British and become Dutch.

Call it stubbornness if you like but every time they go off to exercise their democratic rights, a little part of me mutters ‘no taxation without representation’ and ‘votes for foreign women!’

Controversial

Voting rights for immigrants like myself are a controversial issue. The current government is even planning to increase the residency requirement to vote in the local elections from five to seven years.

That makes it even more important to get out and use your vote in the local elections on March 19 – if you have one.

While you must have Dutch nationality to vote for the national government, if you are from another EU country or a foreign national who has lived in the Netherlands officially for more than five years, you can vote in the local elections.

According to the national statistics office CBS, some 450,000 non-Dutch nationals will be able to vote on March 19, meaning the expat vote could be crucial in some areas.

Amsterdam

This is particularly the case in Amsterdam, where D66 is challenging 60 years of Labour dominance. Amsterdam is currently run by a bizarre collection of bedfellows: the right-wing VVD, the Labour party (PvdA) and the left-wing greens GroenLinks. The polls show it will be a close race between Labour and D66 to become the biggest party.

Turning out to vote in The Hague is even more crucial. Several opinion polls predict Geert Wilders’ anti-immigration PVV could be the biggest in The Hague after March 19.

In case you wondered, the PVV only contested the local elections in The Hague and Almere in 2010 and is doing the same this year – maximum publicity for minimum effort.

Strange message

The city of peace and justice would be sending out a strange message to the world indeed if a group which wants to ban the Koran, end ‘non-western’ and eastern European immigration and withdraw from the EU becomes the biggest party on the city council.

Even more reason to get out and vote to show the rest of the world that the PVV only represents a small minority of people living in The Netherlands.

So I would say to every international and expat out there – if you’ve got a vote, get out and use it. International workers are hugely important to the Dutch economy. We have rights as well as duties and we need to make sure our voices are heard politically as well.