BIJ1 explained

BIJ1
Chairperson:vacant
Membership: 5,276[1]
Membership Year:2023
Position: to
Leader1 Title:Leader
Leader1 Name:Edson Olf
Founders:Sylvana Simons
Ian van der Kooye
Seats1 Title:House of Representatives
Colours: Black
White
Country:the Netherlands
Split:Denk[2]
Youth Wing:RADICAAL
Seats2 Title:Municipalities
Flag:File:Flag of the BIJ1.svg

BIJ1 (in Dutch; Flemish pronounced as /bɛi̯ˈeːn/;), formerly known as Article 1, is a political party in the Netherlands. It was founded in Amsterdam in 2016 by Sylvana Simons, a television personality who was formerly connected to another party, Denk.[3] [4] [5] Edson Olf has led the party since September 2023.[6]

History

Foundation

In 2016, Sylvana Simons joined Denk, a political movement founded by MPs Tunahan Kuzu and Selçuk Öztürk after leaving the Labour Party following an internal dispute over the party's position on integration.[7] [8] In December of the same year, Simons left the movement as she was disappointed by the lack of support she received from the party during a period of intense death threats.[9] She also felt that Denk was becoming increasingly conservative and losing interest in progressive causes such as LGBT rights.

Shortly after her departure from Denk, Simons founded her own party, named Article 1. The name referred to the first article of the Dutch constitution, which prohibits discrimination based on race, religion, gender or any other reason.[10]

2017 general election

On 15 March 2017, Article 1 contested the general election with Simons as lead candidate. Other prominent candidates were anthropologist Gloria Wekker and former Socialist Party senator Anja Meulenbelt. The party failed to get enough endorsements in the provinces of Friesland and Drenthe to get on the ballot.[11]

Article 1 received 28,700 votes (0.27%), failing to reach the 0.67% threshold to get a seat in the House of Representatives. Most of the party's support came from municipalities with a large Afro-Dutch population, such as Amsterdam (2.5%), Almere (1.9%), Diemen (1.7%) and Rotterdam (1.3%). The party also achieved an above average result in the Caribbean Netherlands (1.6%). The party scored negligibly in the more rural municipalities and cities with little or no immigrant population.

Name change

The party was sued by anti-discrimination think tank Art.1 for trademark infringement. The judge's verdict was in favor of Art.1, and therefore Simons was forced to change the name of the party.[12] On 29 October 2017, the new name was announced: BIJ1.[13] It refers to the Dutch word bijeen, which translates to "together".

2018 municipal elections

In March 2018, the party only contested in the municipal election in Amsterdam. Sylvana Simons was again elected as lead candidate. During the campaign, one of the party's candidates was accused of lying on her résumé, in which she wrongfully claimed to be a psychiatrist. Her candidacy was eventually withdrawn.[14]

Despite this incident, the party won 6,571 votes (1.9%), just enough to win a seat in the municipal council. The best results for BIJ1 were in Amsterdam-Zuidoost, especially in the Bijlmermeer, which is home to a large Surinamese migrant population.

2021 general election

In February 2020, the party announced that it would compete in the 2021 general election.[15] The candidate list was approved by the general assembly in November 2020. Sylvana Simons was again selected as lead candidate, while anti-racism activist Quinsy Gario was placed on the second spot.[16] [17] The party was supported by prominent lijstduwers, such as academic Gloria Wekker and actresses Anousha Nzume and Romana Vrede.[18] The party achieved 0.84% of the vote share, securing a seat in the House for the first time.

2023 general election and internal problems

In 2021, Quinsy Gario was suspended from the party following behaviour allegations.[19] He later cancelled his party membership which prompted the BIJ1's entire executive board in The Hague to resign in protest.[20] In June 2022, the party's national chairwoman Jursica Mills left after claiming in a letter that BIJ1 had become a party of "toxicity, cronyism and contradictions."[21] In September 2022, the board of the Amsterdam branch quit after accusing B1J1's leadership of interfering in the selection of the a new faction leader following Jazie Veldhuyzen's resignation and raised accusations of fraud within the party. At the same time, Gloria Wekker also accused the party of containing racism, misogyny and cancel culture within its ranks.[22]

After the November 2023 snap election was triggered following the collapse of the fourth Rutte cabinet, Simons announced on 24 July that she would not run for re-election and would stand down as lead candidate for the party citing health reasons. Around the same time, several reports emerged of growing instability within BIJ1 which had built up over previous years. Two BIJ1 Amsterdam councilors also quit the party before Simons' announcement, citing a "toxic climate" in the party and stated Simons had also insufficiently supported them which Simons denied.[23] [24] It was subsequently announced Edson Olf would lead BIJ1 into the election. The party lost its seat in the House of Representatives. In December 2023, the party was forced to repay 127,000 euros in parliamentary subsidy payments after failing to provide necessary documents to the House finance committee to show the subsidies had been spent correctly.[25]

Ideology

According to the party, its two pillars are radical equality and economic justice.[26] The party supports the LGBT community, an end to ethnic profiling, and intersectionality. Because of the party's left-wing radicalism, it is often cited along with socialist parties and movements.[27] Rebekka Timmer, member of the commission for the party program and number three on the list for the 2021 elections,[28] however, shows an indifferent view in regards to the term communism, but admits to drawing inspiration from anti-capitalist thinkers, such as Karl Marx.[29] Founder, Sylvana Simons opposes communism as it is envisioned by China and the Soviet Union, calling it state capitalism.[30]

The party advocates the independence and recognition of the State of Palestine and the Republic of South Maluku. It also supports paying reparations to former Dutch colonies such as the Dutch Caribbean, Suriname and Indonesia.[31] [32] According to Simons, the party wants a fairer representation of female, immigrant and LGBTQ people in the government and the workplace.[33]

Economically, the party calls for a single-payer healthcare system, the closing of the gender wage gap and replacing gross domestic product with the concept of gross national happiness as the dominant economic indicator.

Controversies

In November 2021, the Amsterdam branch of BIJ1 sparked controversy after releasing a preliminary copy of the party's election program which referred to the Remembrance of the Dead commemoration for Jewish and Dutch resistance victims as "basically racist" and argued that the commemoration should include memorials to victims of Dutch violence from South America and Asia and to "resistance heroes" from former Dutch colonies. The program stated "as long as this remains the case, Amsterdam will not accommodate this commemoration."[34] The program statement was met with condemnation from other political parties and the Central Jewish Consultation who called it "a direct insult to the relatives of the more than 100,000 murdered Jews in the Netherlands, most of them from Amsterdam."

Electoral results

House of Representatives

ElectionLijsttrekkerVotes%Seats+/–Government
Sylvana Simons28,7000.27 (#16)New
87,6350.84 (#17) 1
Edson Olf44,2530.42 (#18) 1

Municipal

Election Municipality Lead candidate Votes % Seats +/–
AmsterdamSylvana Simons 6,571 1.9 (#12) New
2022Georgine Panhuijsen3,225[35] 5.0 (#9)New
Jazie Veldhuyzen21,441[36] 6.8 (#5)
 2
Jeanette Chedda[37] 883[38] 2.1 (#12)New
Mieke Megawati Vlasblom[39] 8,094[40] 4.1 (#9)New
Stevie Nolten[41] 5,403[42] 3.4 (#11)New

See also

Notes and references

References

Notes and References

  1. Web site: BIJ1 ledentallen per jaar (2020-). 23 August 2022. Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. 22 February 2023. 17 February 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230217110331/https://www.rug.nl/research/dnpp/politieke-partijen/bij1/geschiedenis/ledentallen. live.
  2. Web site: 'Nederland heeft een lange traditie van splinterpartijen' . 25 December 2016 . Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS) . nl . 7 February 2021 . 25 March 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230325094948/https://nos.nl/artikel/2150082-nederland-heeft-een-lange-traditie-van-splinterpartijen . live .
  3. Web site: Sylvana Simons was eerst met naam Artikel 1 . 13 January 2017 . Ad.nl . nl-NL . 11 March 2017 . 12 March 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170312065357/http://www.ad.nl/binnenland/sylvana-simons-was-eerst-met-naam-artikel-1~af959e5c/ . live .
  4. Web site: 'Artikel 1' heeft een verkeerde naam . Ger Groot . 24 December 2016 . Trouw.nl . nl-NL . 11 March 2017 . 12 March 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170312064904/https://www.trouw.nl/home/-artikel-1-heeft-een-verkeerde-naam~ad0b34ea/ . live .
  5. Web site: Simons presenteert twintig kandidaten Artikel 1 - Politiek - Voor nieuws, achtergronden en columns. Joost de. Vries. 16 January 2017. Volkskrant.nl. nl-NL. 11 March 2017. 12 March 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170312072402/http://www.volkskrant.nl/politiek/simons-presenteert-twintig-kandidaten-artikel-1~a4449213/. live.
  6. Web site: 2023-09-16 . Rotterdammer Edson Olf volgt Simons op als lijsttrekker Bij1 . 2023-11-29 . nos.nl . nl.
  7. Web site: Sylvana Simons sluit zich aan bij partij DENK . 18 May 2016 . 21 April 2020 . de Volkskrant . nl-NL .
  8. Web site: Verklaring namens het Partijbestuur van de PvdA PvdA . https://web.archive.org/web/20160315154940/http://www.pvda.nl/berichten/2014/11/Verklaring+namens+het+Partijbestuur+van+de+PvdA. dead. 15 March 2016 . 15 March 2016 . nl-NL . 21 April 2020.
  9. Web site: Sylvana Simons weg bij Denk, begint nieuwe partij. 24 December 2016. nos.nl. nl-NL. 21 April 2020. 25 March 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230325094949/https://nos.nl/artikel/2149947-sylvana-simons-weg-bij-denk-begint-nieuwe-partij. live.
  10. News: TV commentator makes equality an issue in Dutch elections . Mike Corder . 3 March 2017 . . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20170312065455/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/tv-presenter-takes-campaign-for-equality-to-dutch-elections/2017/03/03/8f2fe058-002e-11e7-9b78-824ccab94435_story.html . 12 March 2017.
  11. Web site: Kiesraad . 2017-03-21 . Officiële uitslag Tweede Kamerverkiezing 15 maart 2017 - Nieuwsbericht - Kiesraad.nl . 2022-04-16 . www.kiesraad.nl . nl-NL . 4 September 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210904135440/https://www.kiesraad.nl/actueel/nieuws/2017/03/20/officiele-uitslag-tweede-kamerverkiezing-15-maart-2017 . live .
  12. Web site: Sylvana 'teleurgesteld' over verplichte naamswijziging Artikel 1. van Ast. Maarten. 7 June 2017. Algemeen Dagblad. 21 April 2020. 19 October 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181019153543/https://www.ad.nl/politiek/sylvana-teleurgesteld-over-verplichte-naamswijziging-artikel-1~a450f633/. live.
  13. Web site: Artikel1 is er uit: 'Vanaf nu heten wij BIJ1'. 29 October 2017. www.at5.nl. nl-NL. 21 April 2020. 1 September 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190901075109/https://www.at5.nl/artikelen/174702/artikel1-is-er-uit-vanaf-nu-heten-wij-bij1. live.
  14. Web site: Cailin Kuit trekt zich terug als kandidaat van Bij1, de partij van Sylvana Simons. Stoffelen. Anneke. 11 January 2018. de Volkskrant. nl-NL. 21 April 2020.
  15. Web site: ANP. 25 January 2020. BIJ1 doet nieuwe poging voor Kamerzetel. 2 November 2020. Het Parool. nl-NL.
  16. Web site: Sylvana Simons stapt uit raad Amsterdam, richt zich op Tweede Kamerverkiezingen. 31 October 2020. 2 November 2020. nos.nl. nl-NL. 5 August 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210805215543/https://nos.nl/artikel/2354675-sylvana-simons-stapt-uit-raad-amsterdam-richt-zich-op-tweede-kamerverkiezingen. live.
  17. Web site: Koops. Ruben. 4 September 2020. Quinsy Gario wil Tweede Kamer in namens Bij1. 2 November 2020. Het Parool. nl-NL.
  18. Web site: Kandidaten BIJ1. Een historische lijst. . https://web.archive.org/web/20201101010406/https://www.bij1.org/kandidaten . 2 November 2020 . dead . 1 November 2020 . www.bij1.org . nl-NL.
  19. Web site: Quinsy Gario expelled from Bij1 due to signals 'that not everyone felt safe' . 2023-12-20.
  20. Web site: The Hague department of Bij1 breaks with the party and resigns . 2023-12-20.
  21. Web site: Party chairman Bij1 Jursica Mills resigns due to 'toxic party culture': 'Many people lack integrity' . 2023-12-20.
  22. Web site: Amsterdam board Bij1 resigns and speaks of fraud within the party . 2023-12-20.
  23. News: Sylvana Simons niet opnieuw Bij1-lijsttrekker nadat Amsterdamse raadsleden zich afsplitsen . subscription . 12 August 2023 . NRC . nl . Sylvana Simons won't be BIJ1 lead candidate again after Amersterdam councilors leave the party . 24 July 2023 . Wieringa . Rein .
  24. News: Sylvana Simons wil geen lijsttrekker Bij1 meer zijn, 'ziet uit naar rust' . de Volkskrant . subscription . 12 August 2023 . Linnemann . Esma . Sylvana Simons no longer wants to be BIJ1 lead candidate, 'is looking forward to rest' .
  25. Web site: BIJ1 moet ruim een ton subsidie terugbetalen . BIJ1 must repay more than a hundred thousand euros in subsidies . 6 December 2023 . . nl . 4 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231216064646/https://www.rtlnieuws.nl/nieuws/politiek/artikel/5422937/sylvana-simons-laat-bij1-achter-met-financiele-strop . 16 December 2023 . live.
  26. Web site: About BIJ1. https://web.archive.org/web/20200610044757/https://www.bij1.org/en-US/over. 10 June 2020. www.bij1.org. en-US. 21 April 2020. dead.
  27. Web site: Ellian . Afshin . 30 July 2021 . BIJ1 en Black Lives Matter willen de geschiedenis herschrijven . live . 10 January 2022 . EWmagazine.nl . nl . https://web.archive.org/web/20210730095746/https://www.ewmagazine.nl/opinie/opinie/2021/07/bij1-en-black-lives-matter-willen-de-geschiedenis-herschrijven-837186/ . 30 July 2021 .
  28. Web site: 4 September 2020 . Hoge positie concept-kieslijst bij BIJ1 voor Rebekka Timmer . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200911103355/https://www.gooieneembode.nl/extra/184491/hoge-positie-concept-kieslijst-bij-bij1-voor-rebekka-timmer . 11 September 2020 . 10 January 2022 . Gooi en Eembode . nl.
  29. Web site: KiesWijzer x RedPers - Interview Rebekka Timmer #2 BIJ1 . 16 March 2021 . Podcast Kieswijzer . . nl . Noem het communisme, wij noemen het rechtvaardigheid (...) Ik weet niet of het heel veel raakvlakken heeft – natuurlijk, we zijn geïnspireerd door antikapitalistische denkers. Wij vinden daar veel in, maar wij hebben echt een eigen ideologie, want het socialisme, als je wil, daar zei Karl Max natuurlijk al over: dat moet je afstemmen op de plaats en de locatie en de materiële omstandigheden van het hier en nu. Wij vinden het ook belangrijk dat we gewoon naar de samenleving kijken zoals die nu is en dan gaan kijken wat zijn de rechtvaardige oplossingen en niet per se de geschiedenisboeken erbij pakken om te kijken wat iemand anders ooit heeft gezegd.
    (Call it communism, we call it justice (...) I don't know if it has a lot of similarities – of course, we've been inspired by anti-capitalist thinkers. We find a lot in it, but we really have our own ideology because socialism, if you will – Karl Marx has said about it: you need to adapt it to the place and the location and the material conditions of the current place and time. We think it's important to look at society as it exists now and then have a look at what the righteous solutions are and not to get the history books out to see what someone else has said in the past.) . 10 January 2022 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220109135835/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPtO6GmxpEc&t=379s . 9 January 2022.
  30. Web site: We lieten Rebekka (BIJ1) en Roos (Libertaire Partij) de degens kruisen . 10 January 2022 . npo3.nl . 9 January 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220109140434/https://www.npo3.nl/brandpuntplus/rebekka-bij1-roos-libertaire-partij . live .
  31. Web site: 2021. Antiracism and Decolonization. 22 July 2021. BIJ1. 22 July 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210722023630/https://bij1.org/en/programma/antiracism-and-decolonization/. live.
  32. Web site: 2021. International Cooperation. 22 July 2021. BIJ1. 22 July 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210722023630/https://bij1.org/en/programma/international-collaboration/. live.
  33. Web site: The black Dutch feminist taking the fight against right-wing extremism to the ballot box . Bryan Sol Miranda . 14 March 2017 . Equal Times . As a majority female, immigrant and LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) party led by a woman of Surinamese heritage, Artikel 1 has been adamant about fairer representation in governmental institutions and the workplace. . 7 February 2021 . 9 January 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210109064939/https://www.equaltimes.org/the-black-dutch-feminist-taking . live.
  34. Web site: 2022-01-09 . 25 November 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211125110836/https://www.ad.nl/binnenland/dodenherdenking-racistisch-ophef-om-concept-verkiezingsprogramma-bij1~addfe155 . Sebastiaan Quekel . 2021-11-25 . Dodenherdenking racistisch? Ophef om concept verkiezingsprogramma BIJ1 . live . Algemeen Dagblad.
  35. Web site: Uitslag Gemeenteraadsverkiezingen 2022. 19 March 2022. 19 March 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220319155127/https://verkiezingensite.nl/uitslag/almere. live.
  36. Web site: Uitslag Gemeenteraadsverkiezingen 2022. 19 March 2022. 17 March 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220317181756/https://verkiezingensite.nl/uitslag/amsterdam. live.
  37. Web site: 13 December 2021 . Check onze raadskandidaten! . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20211213204428/https://twitter.com/DelftBIJ1/status/1470493573753839621 . 13 December 2021 . 10 January 2022 . Twitter . en.
  38. Web site: Uitslag Gemeenteraadsverkiezingen 2022. 19 March 2022. 19 March 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220319155126/https://verkiezingensite.nl/uitslag/delft. live.
  39. Web site: Groenendijk . Peter . 22 December 2021 . Kandidaten gemeenteraad geen goede afspiegeling van bevolking: 'Diverse lijst was duidelijk doel' . live. 10 January 2022 . PZC . https://web.archive.org/web/20220105155029/https://www.pzc.nl/rotterdam/kandidaten-gemeenteraad-geen-goede-afspiegeling-van-bevolking-diverse-lijst-was-duidelijk-doel~a5662315/ . 5 January 2022 .
  40. Web site: Uitslag Gemeenteraadsverkiezingen 2022. 19 March 2022. 17 March 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220317182438/https://verkiezingensite.nl/uitslag/rotterdam. live.
  41. Web site: Kandidaten . Utrecht BIJ1 . 26 January 2022 . 26 January 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220126150833/https://utrecht.bij1.org/kandidaten . live .
  42. Web site: Uitslag Gemeenteraadsverkiezingen 2022. 19 March 2022. 17 March 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220317183448/https://verkiezingensite.nl/uitslag/utrecht. live.

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