THE HAGUE--Former St. Maarten Minister Plenipotentiary and current Member of Parliament (MP) in the Dutch Second Chamber Jorien Wuite announced on Wednesday that she will not stand for re-election when the Netherlands returns to the polls in November.
Wuite’s decision comes as a surprise, mainly because of her impressive showing in the last Dutch parliamentary election, where she amassed almost 16,000 votes to become the fifth-highest vote-getter on centrist party D66’s slate of 80 candidates. She received more votes than nine of her fellow party members who held political office at the time, which marked her as a serious contender in The Hague’s political landscape.
Wuite – who became the first-ever Dutch MP of St. Maarten descent when she took her seat in the Second Chamber in March 2021 – did not give a clear reason for pulling out of the next general election.
“In 2020, I campaigned for the parliamentary elections from St. Maarten. I hoped to encourage new generations to participate in our democracy; one that is inclusive. I also hoped to show that this is possible from the Caribbean part of the Kingdom, as well as urgently needed,” Wuite said on professional networking platform LinkedIn.
“I am proud of what D66 has achieved [in this term – Ed.]. But the elections came very early. It is therefore difficult for me to decide that I will not be eligible for re-election in November, because the work is not finished yet. I thus hope to see new (young and old) Caribbean people on the candidate lists,” she said.
Wuite, who has been a vocal MP on issues of culture and kingdom relations, said she will “continue to be more than 100% committed” to her portfolios until November.
“And we will continue to speak after November, because I want to continue to dedicate myself and fight for the power of the Kingdom, international (cultural) diplomacy, and the endless possibilities of, and necessity for, education, art and culture,” she said.
With Wuite’s withdrawal from the upcoming vote, she joins at least 19 other Dutch MPs who have said they will not be standing for re-election to the 150-member Second Chamber.
The current Dutch government fell last month only 2½ years into its four-year term because the four-party coalition, which included Wuite’s D66, failed to reach an agreement on a family reunification policy for asylum seekers.
