Rotterdam should return to the polls

Only a redone election can remove all the doubts in Rotterdam.

Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb of Rotterdam was wise to conclude that the votes cast during municipal elections in his city last week need to be recounted. With the support of the city council, a special electoral committee charged with maintaining the integrity of the elections has now ordered a recount because of the aberrations that took place last Wednesday.

Two of mayor Aboutaleb’s predecessors, Bram Peper and Ivo Opstelten, had earlier demanded a recount after Leefbaar Rotterdam, a local populist right party that was runner-up in Rotterdam’s elections, had reported irregularities last week. Being the mayor makes Aboutaleb responsible for the central electoral office in his city. On Friday, he thought he had the law on his side when he rejected such a recount. Electoral law dictates recounts can only take place when errors have had an effect on the distribution of council seats.

Luckily, Aboutaleb has since come to realise the social unrest created by the uncertainty over the legitimacy of the results has to be put down. Especially considering the narrow margin between the two largest parties: Labour and Leefbaar Rotterdam.

Whether or not the mayor was swayed by his predecessors, who broke a standing tradition of not interfering in successors’ business, is irrelevant now. The results count. If he had failed to act, the city council would have a cloud of possible misrepresentation of the voters’ will hanging over its meetings for the next four years. Also, the recount might be of influence in the formation of a governing coalition since it is custom – not rule – that the largest party takes the initiative on this.

The special electoral committee is currently studying whether the elections were honest and in accordance with the law. Looking at the evidence to the contrary, it is almost certain that some polling stations failed to abide by relevant rules. Multiple people simultaneously entered voting booths, for example, something forbidden in nearly all cases.

If the committee finds the law has been broken, it should not hesitate to advise the city council to take a further step: announce new elections. A recount cannot reveal or undo all the damage done.

Redone elections are rare events, but they are a possibility under Dutch electoral law, which requires they be held within 30 days and allows them to be limited to polling stations that experienced problems and to voters who had already demonstrated their intent to vote, by trading in their electoral notices for ballots at the polling station.

Only such a move can possibly remove all the doubts concerning the legitimacy of the Rotterdam election and the accuracy of its results. There should be no reason for such doubts.