Brussels, 05/06/2009 (Agence Europe) - The European elections kicked off on Thursday 4 June 2009 with low turnout in the Netherlands (where only 36.5% of voters turned up to vote, compared with 39.1% in 2004) and in the United Kingdom, which were the first member states to vote. The Czechs and Irish will vote on Friday 5 June 2009, followed on Saturday 6 June by Latvia, Malta, Cyprus and Slovakia. The other 19 member states will be voting on Sunday 7 June.
In the Netherlands, detailed and probably accurate “unofficial results” were leaked on Thursday evening in contravention of the 1976 Act on the election of Members of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage, which bans member states from publishing any results for their country before all voting has finished in all the member states, in other words until Sunday evening at 10.00pm. The European Commission reminded the member states of this rule on 20 May 2009 and is furious about the early indication of results in the Netherlands. On Friday, the European Commission announced that it would be taking measures against the Dutch over their violation of EU law (see below). No results, even unofficial, have been published for the United Kingdom.
The figures published in the Netherlands suggest the Christian Democrats (CDA) of Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende are in the lead with 20% of the vote (down 4% on the 2004 European election) and five seats (down from seven at present) at the new European Parliament where they are part of the European People's Party (EPP). The Freedom Party (PVV) of Dutch anti-Muslim far-right parliamentarian Geert Wilders is reported to be in second place with 16.9% of the vote and four MEPs. They may join the Union for a Europe of Nations (UEN). The PVV campaigned against the “islamicising of Europe” and against Turkey joining the EU in the future. The Dutch Labour Party (PvdA) is reported to be in third place with 12.2% of the vote, down 10% on 2004. The PvdA (part of the Party of European Socialists, PES, at the European Parliament) would slump from seven to three MEPs. The liberal left D66 party (whose MEPs are part of the ALDE Group) is reported to have got 11.3% of the vote and three seats at the new European Parliament. The liberals in the VVD (also members of the ALDE Group) would get three MEPs. The Groenlinks ecologists are reported to have got nearly 9% of the vote and three MEPs (one more than in 2004). The Christian party ChristenUnie is reported to have gained slightly more votes (6.9%) and two MEPs. The far left SP is reported to have got 7% of the vote and two MEPs.
Commission demands explanations from The Hague. The European Commission announced on Friday that it will be demanding explanations from the Dutch government about the events on Thursday evening and the way the electoral results were published. The Commission will examine the Dutch government's answer and determine whether EU legislation on the organisation of European elections was violated, explained a European Commission spokesperson on Friday. The spokesperson pointed out that the EU rules ban any early publication of results, be they preliminary, partial or local. The results must not be relayed to the media or to polling bodies before voting has ended in all EU member states. The Commission believes the “events in the Netherlands on Thursday evening” do not appear to be in the spirit of the EP elections which should rise above purely national issues. The spokesperson said the Commission believes that in order to get European voters to understand the European character of the elections, it is essential to publish the results at the same time everywhere to ensure that it is seen as a European election and to prevent the results from influencing the vote in other member states. The spokesperson said that if the Netherlands did violate the rules, the Commission would take “measures”, but would not give any further details. On Friday, a Dutch home office official said the Dutch authorities were prepared to explain matters to the European Commission, adding that the Dutch government believed voters had the right to learn the results of elections “quickly”. (H.B./transl.fl)