English

May we introduce ourselves

Our name is : Lokaal Wassenaar

We are a local political party. Our main aim is to serve the local Wassenaar community. That means listening to the views and opinions of our fellow-villagers and following up on what we hear. We are neither religious, right nor left oriented
.
Our priorities include the following key issues :

  • Transparent politics and clear decision-making
  • Reasonable municipal taxes and effective use of tax-payers money
  • Safeguarding Wassenaar as an independent municipality
  • Being a caring party for those in need
  • Confronting the ever increasing through traffic within our village
  • Safeguarding a proper environment and maintaining Wassenaar’s green village image
  • Guarding the safety and security within our village

In a nutshell, we are conservative as far as it concerns the protection of the quality of life in Wassenaar and yet we are also progressive by keeping an open mind for developments and challenges of the future.

There is no such thing as a hidden agenda. We are free and independent.

Lokaal Wassenaar has no masters, only the constituents of Wassenaar.

Connecting – a keyword for Lokaal Wassenaar

Local elections will be held in March 2026. As Wassenaarders we will choose our town council members by voting
for individual candidates who represent specific political parties.Though many individuals and their parties represent national political interests, Lokaal Wassenaar, the second largest local party in Wassenaar,represents only Wassenaar residents and their interests. Without the distraction of national political alliances, Lokaal Wassenaar can focus on connecting us all locally.

In the elections, multiple campaigns will focus on us voters, as we determine which party and its ideals best suit us, so we can all make our votes count for our community. Lokaal Wassenaar believes that differences in our backgrounds, income, education, nationalities, religions or upbringing, strengthen us as a community, and we have more connecting us than separating us.
Lokaal Wassenaar is focused on connecting us, because together, we are Wassenaar, and working together, we can do great things for our community and its future.

Most of us love Wassenaar, because it is a friendly, beautiful town with so much to offer. Known as a green oasis, it’s no wonder we Wassenaarders love being near the sea, enjoying the dunes, our forests and our waterways. We enjoy our lovely village with a variety of shops, galleries and restaurants. We have a wide range of sports and music facilities, active neighborhood clubs and many good schools and day cares. Our town’s offices are easily accessible at our own town hall. We can feel safe with our own health center, fire brigade and police station. We are informed and social, with our own library and cultural centers. Our town offers special services for our residents who may need extra help. These are all the sorts of things we must cherish and protect locally, with our votes, so that future generations will also enjoy living in Wassenaar as much as
we do now.

In the coming years Lokaal Wassenaar will make every effort to preserve and strengthen everything connecting us. Together we
are building an adaptable and sustainable Wassenaar for us all.

 

Focus on the International Community

The law concerning who has the right to vote without being Dutch is regulated in the “de Kieswet” – the law dealing with elections. “De Kiesraad” – the Dutch National Electoral Council – gives further details and advice in this respect, see www.kiesraad.nl


In local elections expats have the right to participate as long as they are registered in their municipality. This also applies to Dutch and other EU citizens abroad, however, not to embassy and consular staff.
Non-EU citizens must have lived permanently in The Netherlands for at least five years. For non-EU expats living in Amsterdam, it is possible to vote in the District Council (Bestuurscommissie) elections provided they have been registered in the city for more than three years.

The number of expats in The Netherlands is significant, however mainly concentrated in the Randstad. Amsterdam has a population of 77.000 expats, The Hague 50.000, Rotterdam 48.000, Maastricht 25.000 and Eindhoven 20.000. In a recent article of the magazine “Binnenlands Bestuur” it appears that only one of these cities, namely Maastricht, provides for specific information for Expats. More info at www.binnenlandsbestuur.nl .

This information concerns the legal rights of the local political parties as well as their policies and aims. There are also different
clubs/associations for expats, and relevant information with respect to Dutch elections etc. in English is to be found at their websites.

Wassenaar is well known for its international community. There is no municipality where there are so many diplomatic residences in relation to the number of inhabitants. Lokaal Wassenaar is proud of our international community. There are several good examples of excellent integration at local level.

For example ASH, the American School of The Hague and the sports club Blauw-Zwart where locals and expats cooperate well together. On cultural level the cooperation between the local band, Excelsior Harmony, and the band of the ASH is very successful indeed.

Lokaal Wassenaar is aware of the necessity of further integration of our international community in Wassenaar. In our party there will be one person responsible for expats and contact with the international municipality. Several candidates of our party and members of our board have been expats. Our policy will be to further increase and provide for assistance and information to the expats living in Wassenaar. This will also include the assistance in terms of the Dutch language and more online information via social media. This will be done at our own website lokaalwassenaar.nl and on Facebook.