KRALENDIJK – On March 15, 2023, there will be elections on Bonaire not only for the island council, but also for the electoral college of the Senate. On 15 March, therefore, there will be not one, but two ballot papers for all persons eligible voters with Dutch Nationality.

Jaap Kos is a lawyer and economist and is taking part in the Electoral College elections with LIJST 4. Together with the other electoral colleges and the provincial council, the Bonairean electoral college determines the composition of the Senate in The Hague. All Dutch bills – including those for Bonaire – are discussed in the Senate, after they have been adopted by the government and the House of Representatives. No law will be passed without the consent of the Senate.

According to Kos, the island council elections are known to almost everyone. “But much less is known about what exactly the electoral college is,” says Kos. With his candidacy, Kos wants to draw more attention to the electoral college elections. “With the electoral colleges, the Caribbean Netherlands has been given a unique, full-fledged role in the Dutch constitution. Politics in the island council is of course very important, but in the end we are also dependent on The Hague for many things here. Through the electoral college, we have Bonaire has a direct influence on it. That is stated in the Constitution, so no one in The Hague can ignore it!”, says Kos.

Strategy

Kos says he is following a certain strategy with his candidacy and -hopefully- his election. “If the Bonairean voter entrusts me with a place in the electoral college, I will negotiate our vote for the Senate as much as possible with the political party in The Hague that cares most for Bonaire and is in a position to influence government policy. 

“Because we from Bonaire do not have the upper hand with the numbers, we will have to rely on cleverness and tactics. That is precisely why I am participating as a party- and colorless candidate and without flags. I am not bound to anything and anyone. That is how I can play the game of the negotiations going to play hard for Bonaire. In this time of political tensions, our electoral college could just be decisive for that one residual seat that is needed in The Hague for a majority. And then we can turn the relations in The Hague around here in Bonaire, so from the whole of the Netherlands. Now that’s emancipation!”