As the elections approach, hundreds of thousands of Dutch people abroad are faced with the question of whether they will vote.
Why vote?
To vote or not to vote is a difficult dilemma for emigrants. You may be asking yourself, "Why influence a society that I'm not a part of right now?"
According to some, Dutch people abroad should not get involved in politics in the Netherlands. “If you want to participate in the decision-making process, you shouldn't have emigrated”, is an often-heard argument. Others feel that they are not sufficiently informed to make an informed choice.
But there are plenty of people who do pay tax in the Netherlands or, for example, still own a house there and therefore want to make their voices heard. So there is something to be said for both choices. The fact remains that Dutch people abroad have the right to cast their vote.
Democracy
The success of Dutch democracy depends on citizens being able and allowed to make well-considered choices. Can Dutch people abroad do that? In addition, they elect people's representatives who are allowed to govern the Netherlands, but Dutch sovereignty does not extend beyond national borders.
Nevertheless, the policy of the Dutch government also influences the existence of Dutch people abroad, such as the recent discussion about dual nationality, for example. You will of course remain a Dutch citizen. You have the Dutch identity and the Dutch state plays an important role in representing this identity.
Voting in the Netherlands is one of the few opportunities for many Dutch people abroad to exert some influence on what The Hague decides.
Emigrants account for eight seats in parliament
If you think that your vote won't matter anyway, that's a misunderstanding. There are 700.000 Dutch people living abroad, of which 500.000 are eligible to vote. This is no less than eight seats in the House! If you consider that one seat can be the difference for a parliamentary majority or the formation of a government, your vote can be decisive!
We would like to hear your opinion on this week's statement: 'A Dutch person abroad should vote!'
Sources: RNW
* I am a Dutch citizen (living abroad)
* I have financial interests in the Netherlands (pensions and bank accounts)
* My family lives in the Netherlands
* I am treated according to the tax treaty between the Netherlands and my country of residence.
* I have paid all adequate premiums for 42 years.
* I believe in my freedom to live where I want after my working life.
* I'm fed up with ill-considered legislation (including medical expenses 1-1-2006 !!!!)
* My country of residence only grants me a visa extension per year (no citizenship)
SO……….I VOTE
As long as you have a Dutch passport, you are a Dutch citizen, and your children and grandchildren, if any, all depend on how things are going in the Netherlands.
And if you ever go back, you also have an interest in the political landscape.
Or do you want to vote in Thailand?….(just kidding)
Frank F
Completely agree, as long as you have a Dutch passport, you are a Dutch citizen, you were born and raised there, you were raised and you had an education. Moreover, you have earned the money that allows you to live here (or with which you came here).
The fact that you no longer understand anything about Dutch politics seems to me to be a sign of premature old age.
I'd say do something about it.
If you don't follow the news (TV, newspapers) (anymore), which I can imagine, then it will be difficult, because now see how quickly things change. Should you be for or against Europe? It's so complicated that I can imagine people emigrating just for that!
Disagree, largely because it is a tedious process that takes too much time!
I fill out the form.
Send it to The Hague.
After 2-3 weeks, receive a message by email that I am registered and that I will receive my ballot in due course.
So I have to send it back by post.
My post office is about 2 km away and registered mail costs about 80 baht each time.
Why laborious and time consuming?
The potential problem lies in the reliability of the mail delivery here.
If the deadline is a bit tight and my mail takes 1-2 weeks to deliver "locally", then it may not work. Will give it a try anyway.
Yes, of course you should vote. Follow the politics of NL every day on BVN.
Know very well what is happening in that area.
I've already tried it on my PC but it just doesn't work for me as a voter
register. Unfortunately my computer knowledge doesn't go beyond posting some comments
on Thailand blog. So my vote is lost.
From a purely formal point of view, the statement is incorrect, since there is no compulsory attendance for Dutch people, whether you live in the Netherlands or not.
Furthermore, I think that in practice it works in such a way that someone who still has interests in the Netherlands, or who otherwise feels dependent on Dutch laws and regulations abroad, is more likely to cast his or her vote than someone who has hardly any ties anymore. has with the homeland.
Such a right that can be exercised optionally at one's own discretion within a democratic system is of course the best thing there is, so I would not speak of a difficult dilemma but of an inflated luxury problem and proceed to the order of the day.
I feel more Thai, so my vote is for sale.
Cash please
I still haven't seen anything from Kok's penny.
Zalmpje helped us to the neuro with the result that we have 25% less to spend here.
There are many other reasons why someone should decide for themselves to vote .
Religion, money and politics make the world sick.
Now that I live here I'm happy, it's a shame I didn't do that 40 years ago.
If you don't vote, don't complain about the Netherlands and everything they do so badly
Your money still comes from the Netherlands otherwise you wouldn't be interested in the euro
@Wim - I hear that often, if you don't vote you are apparently no longer allowed to have an opinion. That's weird right? I really do have positions on, say, US foreign policy, Chinese policy and Thai politics that I can't influence in any way with my vote. I also have an opinion about the Netherlands, whether I vote or not. In addition, your money really does not have to come from the Netherlands to be interested in Europe and the Euro.
Voting is a personal choice. Not voting, for whatever reason, is a personal choice and does not automatically give someone less right to have an opinion.
Dear Wim.
You do not know how much money I have brought into the Netherlands in 40 years and how much I still pay to maintain Ali Baba and his robbers .
Soon I have to leave Thailand due to lack of income, can I come and live with you in your garden house near Bloemendaal?
Under a bridge is not allowed!
But my preference is for a bamboo hut in the Isaan.
My ex was able to buy her dream house at my expense, which I am also obliged to transfer to her a solid monthly amount according to Dutch law.
If there is 1 party that can undo this, they have my vote.
Many men have come to live here because they have experienced the same thing and there is no money left for a reasonable existence in NL. to become ..
Energy costs are going up again thanks to Ali-Ben-Zine while I've been working on a project for years that can reduce those costs.
Unfortunately , we are not allowed to touch the income of the high gentlemen .
If things go wrong with them, they take off, look again today at the message about the GVB, the director is not bothered.
Tomorrow I will see him enter the sofitel with dozens of harem members in tow .
I assume that what is meant is that every Dutch person has a 'moral' obligation to vote. There is something in that, but for me personally it is something else. I have been away from the Netherlands for eleven years and have no tangible connection with the country, except that my family and friends live there. I am not an expat, I am an emigrant who has built a new life in Thailand. I know very little about the modern Netherlands and the modern political parties. I read 1 Dutch newspaper online and I don't understand the messages, I can't put faces to names and vice versa. Should I vote then? Vote for voting?
Moderator: Your comment was not posted. Reason: no punctuation marks and no capital letters.
Living in Thailand for five years, as a former marine I enjoy a UKW (former military benefit) and therefore financially dependent on the ABP, so in my opinion I have every interest in what is decided in The Hague or the Netherlands. However, I disagree with the statement, because of the word must, everyone must have the right to vote, but this should never become an obligation in my opinion. That too is democracy.
Sincerely.
Hans.ajax.
Of course there is no voting obligation, whether you live within or outside NL. At most, you can feel morally obligated to vote. We have had compulsory attendance in the Netherlands for a long time, but that has now been abolished. This legal obligation still exists in Belgium, for example, and there are also fines imposed for non-appearance.
It will have a lot to do with the feeling. Do I still have a connection with the Netherlands or not? As long as politics in the Netherlands determine my life “here”, through decisions about taxes, pensions and I still have interests in the Netherlands such as my own home and other matters, voting will remain important.
In addition, you are usually only a long-term visitor “here” (Thailand). After all, you do not get Thai nationality and you cannot actually influence politics in Thailand. Most of us continue to visit a falang with an annual visa.
From the responses it seems that there is a fair amount of agreement on this subject. Whether people will actually vote depends a lot on the hassle and the time it takes. Many will probably leave it that way.
As a supplement; I would prefer it if I had the right to vote in both countries, the Netherlands and Thailand. After all, by living here and spending my money, I am also confronted with the political system of the country on a daily basis.
For example, after living here for 3 years, you also have the right to vote.
I vote because I have an interest in the choices in the Netherlands.
I have state pension, I have company pension, my money is in the bank in NL. Important enough when making choices about the state pension (amount, partner allowance, and whether I may receive it in Thailand and with or without a 'residence tax credit'…), about the safety of my pension, the safety of my bank money, the text of the tax treaty with Thailand , whether my Thai partner will soon be allowed to go on holiday to the Netherlands, my interest is evident, so I vote.
Every politician shows that they lie and cheat just to get elected. Once they have reached their position, it turns out to be only mountains of gold that were promised. You mainly take yourself into the ever when you vote.
In addition, the government does a lot of things wrong that we as people can all arrange much better.
I have been living in Thailand for 6 years now. Have left the Netherlands completely behind me. Have family and friends there, but no possessions. Only a bank account and later my AOW and pension. I work here as a lecturer at a university, pay taxes here, receive a small pension here and am happy here. I follow politics in both the Netherlands and Thailand, but I don't get involved in either. My children (in NL) are big enough to vote for themselves, in Thailand I always remain a foreigner. I CONSCIOUSLY do not vote. Do not presume on me what is good for a country where I do not live and do not want to live anymore; don't even want to be buried. And refuse to vote thinking only of my own interests. If the majority in the House of Representatives wants to raise the state pension age because it is better for the country, then I accept that and I will NOT vote for the party that wants to prevent that because it directly affects MY wallet. I am old and wise enough to adapt my life here to the circumstances in the Netherlands, which only very partly determine my present and future happiness.
I have to vote, I have to learn the Thai language (and so on). First of all, these are not legal obligations, so what are we actually talking about? And secondly, they are deprivations of liberty, namely those that the mob inflicts on me. I'm a Dutch falang, so old and dirty and a drunkard, and a half-baked Christian, or at least that's what I'm supposed to be. Not only what I am is a standard for that, but also for what I do, which choices I make, there is a standard for that (with which my fellow Dutch people follow me). Can I please also make some choices myself? That's how I choose to vote or not. Or am I even obliged to be spontaneous in this? Am I obliged to shout: “But of course I will vote!” And has the editors now given the (service) order to do so? Or does the BVD sometimes keep track of who is still patriotic after the abolition of compulsory voting? The love for his country is innate to everyone… Well, perhaps talked into by the crowd. I do know which nationality I would rather have than the Dutch one. But yes, a country leaver is of course a traitor in the land of the oppressive must. At least with those who stayed at home in that (Dutch) country. If only there were political parties that made it a hard point that you can't just kick such an emigrant out of health insurance...
The people who can't leave Holland (yet) and would really like to read Willem's response carefully. The very last sentence especially grabs me.
We are still coping well in Thailand so far, but I think that is different for many who only have state pension and a small pension
Are they eager to vote?
What should they do when the AOW is also tackled and the Euro drops even further? Will they then sing “Where the white top of the dunes”?
No, those poop on that country to which they have already brought so much money.
And to all political parties that let the expats down, as Willem also indicates in his closing sentence.
'because of the word must'
Yes, we are allergic to that, the word must. Only the other must.
Incidentally, I am against compulsory voting, and I also had to consider that the 'must' above refers to a moral obligation.
Dear Rob, if you have followed the reactions from the beginning (I agree with you by the way), I have already written that, voting right okay, therefore not compulsory to vote, and should never be allowed, you do not add anything thanks for your last comment.
Greetings Hans-ajax.