BIJ1

BIJ1 (Dutch pronunciation: [bɛi̯ˈeːn]; lit. 'together'), formerly known as Article 1 (Dutch: Artikel 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.[14][15][16] BIJ1 aligns itself as an anti-capitalist, progressive left-wing party, advocating economic justice and opposing racism and discrimination in the Netherlands.[17]

BIJ1
ChairpersonRebekka Timmer
LeaderEdson Olf
FoundersSylvana Simons
Ian van der Kooye
Founded24 December 2016 (2016-12-24)
Split fromDENK[1]
Youth wingRADICAAL
Membership (2023)Increase 5,276[2]
Ideology
Political positionLeft-wing[3][10] to far-left[11][12][13]
Colours  Black
  White
  Yellow
Senate
0 / 75
House of Representatives
1 / 150
States-Provincial
0 / 570
European Parliament
0 / 29
Municipalities
5 / 8,237
Website
bij1.org

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.[18][19] 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.[20] 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. This refers to the first article of the Dutch constitution, which prohibits discrimination and racism.

2017 general election
Logo of Artikel1

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.[21]

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.[22] On 29 October 2017, the new name was announced: BIJ1.[23] BIJ1 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.[24]

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.[25] 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.[26][27] The party was supported by prominent lijstduwers, such as academic Gloria Wekker and actresses Anousha Nzume and Romana Vrede.[28]

2023 general election

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 internal 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.[29][30]

Ideology
Sylvana Simons (right) at a Black Lives Matter protest in Utrecht in 2020

According to the party, its two pillars are radical equality and economic justice.[31] The party supports the LGBT community, stronger anti-hate speech laws and an end to ethnic profiling, and it supports intersectionality.[32][33] Because of the party's left-wing radicalism, it is often cited along with socialist parties and movements.[7][8][34] Rebekka Timmer, member of the commission for the party program and number three on the list for the 2021 elections,[35] however, shows an indifferent view in regards to the term communism, but admits to drawing inspiration from anti-capitalist thinkers, such as Karl Marx.[36] She does oppose communism as it is envisioned by China and the Soviet Union, calling it state capitalism.[37]

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.[38][39]

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.

Electoral results

House of Representatives
ElectionLead candidateVotes %Seats+/–Government
2017 Sylvana Simons28,7000.27 (#16)
0 / 150
NewNo seats
2021 87,6350.84 (#17)
1 / 150
Increase 1Opposition

Municipal
ElectionMunicipalityLead candidateVotes %Seats+/–
2018 AmsterdamSylvana Simons6,5711.9 (#12)
1 / 45
New
2022 AlmereGeorgine Panhuijsen 3,225[40] 5.0 (#9)
2 / 45
 New
AmsterdamJazie Veldhuyzen 21,441[41] 6.8 (#5)
3 / 45

[note 1]		 Increase 2
DelftJeanette Chedda[44] 883[45] 2.1 (#12)
0 / 39
 New
RotterdamMieke Megawati Vlasblom[46] 8,094[47] 4.1 (#9)
2 / 45
 New
UtrechtStevie Nolten[48] 5,403[49] 3.4 (#11)
1 / 45
 New

See also

Notes and references

Notes
  1. The party currently holds 0 seats in the Amsterdam municipal council after all members split off.[42][43]

References
  1. "'Nederland heeft een lange traditie van splinterpartijen'" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS). 25 December 2016. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  2. "BIJ1 ledentallen per jaar (2020- )". Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. 23 August 2022. Archived from the original on 17 February 2023. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  3. "Meet the anti-racist campaigner taking on the Dutch right in this week's election". euronews.com. Euro News. 17 March 2021. Archived from the original on 19 March 2021. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  4. Langelaan, Loudi (20 March 2018). "De linkse waakhond van Amsterdam (interview with Jazie Veldhuyzen)". OneWorld (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 23 September 2020. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  5. "Meet the Black feminist politician shaking up Dutch politics". openDemocracy. Archived from the original on 25 January 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  6. "'I act against power': Sylvana Simons is proudly disrupting politics as usual in the Netherlands". The Conversationalist. 12 May 2021. Archived from the original on 9 January 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  7. Klok, Veerle (7 January 2022). "Waarom socialisme juist nu een kans verdient". VPRO (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 9 January 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  8. Broer, Thijs (20 November 2020). "Het marxistische vuur is overgewaaid naar een nieuwe generatie". Vrij Nederland (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 4 May 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  9. Bryan Sol Miranda (14 March 2017). "The black Dutch feminist taking the fight against right-wing extremism to the ballot box". Equal Times. Archived from the original on 9 January 2021. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  10. Schminke, Tobias (10 July 2023). "Netherlands: agrarian party ahead in polls". EURACTIV. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  11. Van Dongen, Annemieke (17 March 2021). "Sylvana Simons opgelucht: felbegeerde Kamerzetel lijkt binnen bereik". Het Parool (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  12. Tim Fraanje (16 March 2022). "Je kunt deze verkiezingen stemmen op mensen die te links zijn voor de SP" [In these elections, you can vote for candidates who are too left-wing for the Socialist Party]. Vice Media (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 13 April 2022. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  13. "Bij1-lijsttrekker Sylvana Simons en Denk-voorman Farid Azarkan stappen op".
  14. "Sylvana Simons was eerst met naam Artikel 1". Ad.nl (in Dutch). 13 January 2017. Archived from the original on 12 March 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  15. Ger Groot (24 December 2016). "'Artikel 1' heeft een verkeerde naam". Trouw.nl (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 12 March 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  16. Vries, Joost de (16 January 2017). "Simons presenteert twintig kandidaten Artikel 1 - Politiek - Voor nieuws, achtergronden en columns". Volkskrant.nl (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 12 March 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  17. Mike Corder (3 March 2017). "TV commentator makes equality an issue in Dutch elections". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 12 March 2017.
  18. "Sylvana Simons sluit zich aan bij partij DENK". de Volkskrant (in Dutch). 18 May 2016. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  19. "Verklaring namens het Partijbestuur van de PvdA | PvdA" (in Dutch). 15 March 2016. Archived from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  20. "Sylvana Simons weg bij Denk, begint nieuwe partij". nos.nl (in Dutch). 24 December 2016. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  21. Kiesraad (21 March 2017). "Officiële uitslag Tweede Kamerverkiezing 15 maart 2017 - Nieuwsbericht - Kiesraad.nl". www.kiesraad.nl (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 4 September 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  22. van Ast, Maarten (7 June 2017). "Sylvana 'teleurgesteld' over verplichte naamswijziging Artikel 1". Algemeen Dagblad. Archived from the original on 19 October 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  23. "Artikel1 is er uit: 'Vanaf nu heten wij BIJ1'". www.at5.nl (in Dutch). 29 October 2017. Archived from the original on 1 September 2019. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  24. Stoffelen, Anneke (11 January 2018). "Cailin Kuit trekt zich terug als kandidaat van Bij1, de partij van Sylvana Simons". de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  25. ANP (25 January 2020). "BIJ1 doet nieuwe poging voor Kamerzetel". Het Parool (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 5 August 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  26. "Sylvana Simons stapt uit raad Amsterdam, richt zich op Tweede Kamerverkiezingen". nos.nl (in Dutch). 31 October 2020. Archived from the original on 5 August 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  27. Koops, Ruben (4 September 2020). "Quinsy Gario wil Tweede Kamer in namens Bij1". Het Parool (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  28. "Kandidaten BIJ1. Een historische lijst". www.bij1.org (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  29. Wieringa, Rein (24 July 2023). "Sylvana Simons niet opnieuw Bij1-lijsttrekker nadat Amsterdamse raadsleden zich afsplitsen" [Sylvana Simons won't be BIJ1 lead candidate again after Amersterdam councilors leave the party]. NRC (in Dutch). Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  30. Linnemann, Esma. "Sylvana Simons wil geen lijsttrekker Bij1 meer zijn, 'ziet uit naar rust'" [Sylvana Simons no longer wants to be BIJ1 lead candidate, 'is looking forward to rest']. de Volkskrant. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  31. "About BIJ1". www.bij1.org. Archived from the original on 10 June 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  32. Clarice Gargard (16 November 2018). "'Ik ben wel echt een arrogante betweter'". NRC Handelsblad. Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  33. Sophia Seawell (1 January 2021). "Meet the Black feminist politician shaking up Dutch politics". openDemocracy. Archived from the original on 26 March 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  34. Ellian, Afshin (30 July 2021). "BIJ1 en Black Lives Matter willen de geschiedenis herschrijven". EWmagazine.nl (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 30 July 2021. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  35. "Hoge positie concept-kieslijst bij BIJ1 voor Rebekka Timmer". Gooi en Eembode (in Dutch). 4 September 2020. Archived from the original on 11 September 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  36. "KiesWijzer x RedPers - Interview Rebekka Timmer #2 BIJ1" (in Dutch). Podcast Kieswijzer. 16 March 2021. Archived from the original on 9 January 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2022 – via YouTube. 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.)
  37. "We lieten Rebekka (BIJ1) en Roos (Libertaire Partij) de degens kruisen". npo3.nl. Archived from the original on 9 January 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  38. "Antiracism and Decolonization". BIJ1. 2021. Archived from the original on 22 July 2021. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  39. "International Cooperation". BIJ1. 2021. Archived from the original on 22 July 2021. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  40. "Uitslag Gemeenteraadsverkiezingen 2022". Archived from the original on 19 March 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  41. "Uitslag Gemeenteraadsverkiezingen 2022". Archived from the original on 17 March 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  42. "Bij1 verdwijnt uit Amsterdam, raadsleden ervaren onveilige omgeving binnen partij". 17 July 2023.
  43. Hielkema, David (24 September 2022). "Carla Kabamba, nummer twee van Bij1, stapt uit partij: 'Ze verwijten me dat ik niet radicaal genoeg ben'". Het Parool (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 6 January 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  44. "Check onze raadskandidaten!". Twitter. 13 December 2021. Archived from the original on 13 December 2021. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  45. "Uitslag Gemeenteraadsverkiezingen 2022". Archived from the original on 19 March 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  46. Groenendijk, Peter (22 December 2021). "Kandidaten gemeenteraad geen goede afspiegeling van bevolking: 'Diverse lijst was duidelijk doel'". PZC. Archived from the original on 5 January 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  47. "Uitslag Gemeenteraadsverkiezingen 2022". Archived from the original on 17 March 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  48. "Kandidaten". Utrecht BIJ1. Archived from the original on 26 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  49. "Uitslag Gemeenteraadsverkiezingen 2022". Archived from the original on 17 March 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
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