Firstly, it is important to note that the referendum will not be a binding one. Although binding referendums have been abolished, it still can have enormous consequences, because it shows the will of the people and gives us a chance to make our voices be heard. In most cases, the result of the referendum is implemented.
Organising a referendum is quite the job and doesn’t happen overnight. The process involves multiple bureaucratic steps and hurdles that need to be overcome. The first of these is submitting an inleidend verzoek (roughly translated as initial request), which entails handing in a 1000 signatures with our initial demands. Relevant to know is that after the submission of this initial request, we can still alter our demands, so even after the initial request, we invite all to give us your input in these demands. After the initial request, the next stage is a campaign period of 10 weeks in which we need to collect 10 000 signatures. If we succeed, the municipal council has to organise the referendum. Despite these numbers, we don’t see these hurdles as insurmountable: many Amsterdam residents are dissatisfied with the lack of national and local measures against Israel and are outraged by the continuous crimes committed in Palestine. And yet the organising of a referendum is not just about signatures and bureaucratic hurdles. We need to mount a campaign, stay in touch with other pro-Palestine organisations, talk with political parties and build our own grassroots movement with the people of Amsterdam – and your – support.
Up until now, we are gathering our team and building our structures to meet these challenges. Our main current tasks are finalising the demands and researching whether the demand is under municipal jurisdiction or not. These demands centre around a list of measures in the economic, humanitarian, diplomatic, cultural, academic and legal domain. They have been drawn from formal BDS recommendations, and local campaigns for Palestine. To streamline these demands, we rely on input from various individuals and organisations – particularly Palestinians and pro-Palestinian groups – who can offer expert opinions and advice on any of the aforementioned domains. We welcome all to share their thoughts. We are hoping to finish this shortly, which would then enable us to submit the initial request. In addition, we are building our team: we are recruiting volunteers for a number of different tasks, such as collecting signatures, but also setting up a campaign structure, working on a media strategy and founding our grassroots movement firmly in the community.
Who is eligible to sign and vote?
To be eligible to vote in municipal elections, voters must be 18 years of age or older, reside in the municipality, and not be disqualified from voting. Dutch nationality is not a requirement, as these conditions also apply to non-Dutch EU-citizens. Non-Dutch citizens who are not EU-citizens may vote for the municipal council under the following conditions:
- On the day of nomination, they must have legally and continuously resided in the Netherlands for five years;
- On the day of nomination, they have a valid residence permit under the Aliens Act 2000, Article 8(a), (b), (c), (d), (e), or (I). Or they have a document under Article 3 or Article 6 of the BES Admission and Expulsion Act.