Dutch general election begins amid pandemic
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Socially distanced voters cast their ballots Monday in churches, conference centers and even the national parliament on the first day of a Dutch general election that has been spread over three days to allow people to vote safely during the coronavirus pandemic.
The COVID19 crisis has been a dominant theme of the campaign, with opposition parties criticizing the government’s handling of the health care emergency and candidates explaining how they will rebuild the economy when the virus recedes.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s popularity soared last year as he guided the country through the pandemic, though it took a hit early this year when the Netherlands became the last European Union country to start its vaccination rollout.
“I think Rutte has done well,” Guido van den Elshout, 72, said after voting in the Dutch parliament building in The Hague. “I don’t vote for him. He is a good prime minister, but I think he is a bit past his sellby date.”
Voting Monday started exactly a year after the first Dutch lockdown began and the country is in another tough lockdown amid stubbornly high infection numbers. More than 16,000 people are confirmed to have died of COVID19 in the Netherlands, with a population of a little over 17 million people.
The conservative People’s Party of Freedom and Democracy, or VVD, led by Rutte, is forecast to win most seats in the 150seat lower house of Parliament. That would put 54yearold Rutte first in line to begin talks to form a new governing coalition. If he succeeds, he could become the longestserving Dutch leader.
The pandemic’s ongoing effects were clearly visible in the Dutch capital Amsterdam, where a drivethru polling station for cars and bicycles opened at a conference center.
Voters could fill out the ballot paper, fold it up and deposit it in ballot boxes without leaving the driver’s seat, while cyclists parked their bikes in racks before registering their votes. As an extra hygiene measure, voters could keep or throw away the red pencils that are used to mark ballot papers in the Netherlands.
After votes are counted Wednesday night and into Thursday, the process of forming the next ruling coalition will start.
The U.S. government wants to house up to 3,000 immigrant teenagers at a convention center in downtown Dallas as it struggles to find space for a surge of migrant families who have inundated the border and strained the immigration system just two months into the Biden administration.
American authorities encountered people crossing the border without legal status more than 100,000 times in February — a level higher than all but four months of Donald Trump’s presidency. The spike in traffic poses a challenge to President Biden at a fraught moment with Congress, which is about to take up immigration legislation.
The Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center will be used for up to 90 days beginning as early
as this week, according to a memo obtained by the Associated Press that was sent Monday to members of the Dallas City Council. Federal agencies will use the facility to house boys ages 15 to 17, according to the memo.