Pirate Party (Netherlands) Explained

Country:the Netherlands
Pirate Party
Native Name:Piratenpartij
Leader:Mark van Treuren
Chairman:Pejman Davish-Zadeh
Leader1 Title:Leader in the Senate
Leader2 Title:Leader in the House of Representatives
Leader3 Title:Leader in the European Parliament
Seats1 Title:Seats in the Senate
Seats2 Title:Seats in the House of Representatives
Seats3 Title:Seats in the European Parliament
Ideology:Pirate politics
Privacy
Open government
Direct democracy
Freedom of information
Position:Syncretic
Wing1 Title:Thinktank
International:Pirate Parties International
European:European Pirate Party
Colours: Purple

The Pirate Party (Dutch; Flemish: Piratenpartij, PPNL) is a political party in the Netherlands, formed in 2006 but not officially registered until 10 March 2010.[1] The party is based on the model of the Swedish Pirate Party.

Positions

The party purposefully limits itself to a limited number of positions. It wants to curb Dutch copyright law (where it wants non-commercial use to be free), to remodel patent law, to protect and strengthen (digital) civil rights, a transparent government and a considerate handling of IT-projects by the government.[2] [3] Its Declaration of Principles says that its purpose is "to change global legislation to facilitate the emerging information society, which is characterized by diversity and openness. We do this by requiring an increased level of respect for the citizens and their right to privacy, as well as reforms to copyright and patent law."[4]

Election results

General elections

The party participated at the 2010 Dutch general election. The party gained no seats in the House of Representatives, becoming the third highest-ranking party not to gain any seats in the election - with over 10,000 votes (0.1% of the national vote).

On 12 July 2012, the candidate list for the 2012 general election was announced. The party leader, Dirk Poot, who two years earlier was 4th place on the list is first on the list, with former leader, Samir Allioui, coming last on the list. The party achieved 0.3%, over 30,000 votes, almost tripling their vote from the last election but failing to meet their target of entering parliament. They also became the largest party not to be represented in parliament.

The party took part in the 2017 general election on 15 March. The party leader was Ancilla van de Leest. The party got 0.34% of the votes (35,478 votes), but since 0.67% of the votes is required to gain a seat, the party did not enter the Dutch national parliament.

Election Votes Vote share Seats ± Ballot AccessNotes
2010Samir Allioui10,4710.11% (#13)New19/19[5] [6]
2012Dirk Poot30,6000.32% (#12)0 19/20[7]
2017Ancilla van de Leest35,4780.34% (#15)0 19/20[8]
2021Matthijs Pontier22,8780.22% (#21)0 20/20[9]

European Parliament elections

The Pirate Party has participated in three European elections: in 2014, 2019, and 2024. The Pirate Party formed a common list with the From the Region Party in 2019 and with The Greens in 2024.

ElectionListLead candidateVotesVote shareSeats+/–EP Group
2014ListMatthijs Pontier40,2160.85 (#11)New
2019ListSent Wierda10,6920.19 (#14) 0
2024ListMatthijs Pontier23,7640.38 (#16) 0

Municipal elections

The party participated at the 2022 Dutch municipal elections. In the municipality of Enkhuizen, the party garnered 380 votes (5.03%), which earned the party a single seat (out of 17) in the Enkhuizen municipal council.[10] Nationwide, the party gained 3,251 votes (0.05%), with the aforementioned seat being the only one earned (out of a total of 8,237).[11]

ElectionMunicipalityVotesVote shareSeats
2014Amsterdam5,6061.7%0
Amsterdam-Zuid (borough council)2,1873.5%0
Amsterdam-West (borough council)1,9813.6%1
Amsterdam-Noord (borough council)5261.8%0
Binnenmaas2792.2%0
Groningen1,1881.3%0
Zwolle7981.4%0
2018Amsterdam4,4591.3%0
Utrecht1,2540.8%0
2022Eindhoven1,0641.4%0
Enkhuizen3805.0%1
Middelburg1370.6%0
Nijmegen6340.8%0
Utrecht1,0360.7%0

International

The party is member of Pirate Parties International (PPI).[12] International cooperation through the PPI is seen as crucial to realising the goals of the party.[13] The positions of the party are based on the Pirate Party Declaration of Principles.[14]

Samir Allioui, co-founder of PPNL and party leader during the 2010 elections, was Co-President of Pirate Parties International (PPI) from July 2009 until April 2010.[15]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Structuur. Piratenpartij. 2010-04-13. nl. Structure. 2010-04-14.
  2. Web site: Kernpunten. Piratenpartij. 2010-04-13. nl. Key Positions. 2010-04-14.
  3. Web site: Piratenpartij wil naar vrije informatiesamenleving. NU.nl. 2010-04-12. Novum. nl. Pirate Party wants a free information society. 2010-04-14. NU.nl.
  4. Web site: Pirate Party Declaration of Principles 3.2. https://web.archive.org/web/20090219040335/http://docs.piratpartiet.se/Principles%203.2.pdf. dead. 19 February 2009. 12 July 2014.
  5. Web site: Kandidatenlijst. Piratenpartij. 2010-04-13. nl. List of Candidates. 2010-04-14.
  6. Web site: Piratenpartij doet mee aan verkiezingen. NU.nl. 2010-03-18. Novum. nl. Pirate Party participates at elections. 2010-04-14. NU.nl.
  7. Web site: Kandidatenlijst en Programma bekend gemaakt. List of candidates and Program announced. Piratenpartij. nl. 16 July 2012. 2012-07-12.
  8. Web site: Uitslag van de verkiezing van de leden van de Tweede Kamer van 15 maart 2017. Kiesraad. nl. Election results for members of the House of Representatives of 15 March 2017. 10 November 2020. 2007-03-23.
  9. Web site: Kiesraad. 2021-02-16. Kandidatenlijsten Tweede Kamerverkiezing 2021 definitief. 2021-02-17. www.kiesraad.nl. nl. List of candidates for House of Representatives elections 2021 final.
  10. Web site: Kiesraad: Gemeenteraad 16 maart 2022 . 2022-08-07 . www.verkiezingsuitslagen.nl. nl. Kiesraad: City council 16 March 2022.
  11. Web site: Kiesraad: Gemeenteraad 16 maart 2022 . 2022-08-07 . www.verkiezingsuitslagen.nl. nl. City council 16 March 2022.
  12. Web site: Pirate Parties . 2023-08-31 . Pirate Parties International.
  13. Web site: Internationaal. Piratenpartij. 2010-04-13. nl. International. 2010-04-14.
  14. Web site: Party Declaration of Principles . https://web.archive.org/web/20090219040335/http://docs.piratpartiet.se/Principles%203.2.pdf . dead . 2009-02-19 . Piratpartiet . 2010-04-14 . Pirate Party (Sweden) .
  15. Web site: About PPI. Pirate Parties International. 2009-12-30. 2010-04-14.