Скачать или смотреть Netherlands accused by Brussels of violating election law

(11 Jun 2004) SHOTLIST

Hague - Election vote-counting headquarters
1. Various of people waiting for results
3. Board with results
4. Results arriving
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Jan Peter Balkenende, Dutch Prime Minister (Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party):
"There are some elements we have to solve, we have to find solutions for the problems and that means you also take political risks. But there is no need to stop our policy. Our policy is really needed."
6. CDA posters
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Jan Peter Balkenende, Dutch Prime Minister (Christian Democratic Appeal party):
"Well this moment is for discussion of course, for the Department of Internal Affairs, the European Commission, it's not my role to discuss that issue. It is the freedom of the local authorities to publish the results but of course you have to look to the consequences but it's not really a problem."
8. Various of MEP (Member of the European Parliament) and Christian Democrat candidate Camiel Eurlings receiving flowers
9. Various of people stood around waiting for results
10. Various of results board
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Wouter Bos, Opposition leader (Social Democratic Party):
"(It is a) great victory for the opposition and the government coalition no longer is supported by the majority of voters in the Netherlands and even though these are European elections I think it is a clear signal to the government of the coalition."
12. Various people in voting room


STORYLINE:

The Netherlands has been accused by Brussels of violating European election law by releasing preliminary results for European Parliamentary elections on Thursday.

It was the only country to release preliminary results in defiance of Brussels, which has threatened to take the Dutch to the European Court of Justice.

The results were based on returns from 94 percent of the votes cast, with ballots from the nation's capital Amsterdam still to be counted - European final results are due to be announced on Sunday.

The unofficial Dutch results showed strong gains for leftist opposition parties, at the expense of the ruling coalition government.

The deployment of nearly 14-hundred Dutch troops to Iraq was the dominant campaign issue, and anti-war sentiment may have played into the hands of the opposition parties.

The Dutch government on Friday is expected to extend the mandate beyond an initial July 15 deadline.

Showing a strong protest vote, the new Transparent Europe party of Paul van Buitenen won two of the 27 Dutch seats in the European legislature.

Van Buitenen is known as the whistleblower whose claims of mismanagement in Brussels in 1998 led to the resignation of the entire European Commission.

Van Buitenen, who was fired at the time and has published two major reports on alleged mismanagement in the European capital, said he would continue to seek out fraud in the European executive and "clean up" Brussels.

With most of the votes counted, the ruling Christian Democratic Appeal party of Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende had an equal number of seats as the leading opposition Social Democrats, each with seven.

Opposition leader Wouter Bos said the vote was a victory for his Social Democratic Party.

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