Jezus_Leeft
Jezus Leeft
Dutch political party
Jezus Leeft (English: Jesus Lives) is a political party in the Netherlands that was founded in November 2013.[2]
Jezus Leeft | |
|---|---|
| Leader | Florens van der Spek |
| Founded | November 2013 |
| Ideology | Evangelism Social conservatism Anti-abortion Stewardship theology Hard Euroscepticism |
| Political position | Right-wing[1] |
| Senate | 0 / 75 |
| House of Representatives | 0 / 150 |
| States-Provincial | 0 / 572 |
| European Parliament | 0 / 26 |
| Website | |
| www | |
The history of the party lies within Joop van Ooijen's evangelisation, originally spreading the gospel by means of flyers at cycling races his son participated in. After an accident, he stopped spreading flyers. In 2008, he painted the text 'JEZUS REDT' (Jesus Saves) on the roof of his farm with reflective paint which is generally used for painting road markings. The case resulted in a civil case by the municipality of Giessenburg, which made headlines in 2009 and 2010.
The party participated in Giessenlanden and some other municipalities in the 2014 Dutch municipal elections. The party also participated in the 2014 European Parliament election in the Netherlands with nine candidates on the list. In the 2015 Dutch provincial elections the party participated in North Brabant, Flevoland, Utrecht, and South Holland. The party never won a seat.
In the 2017 Dutch general election, Jesus Lives participated in seven electoral districts, with Florens van der Spek as party leader. The party won 3,099 votes, which was not enough for a seat. In the 2018 Dutch municipal elections the party took part in 15 different municipalities in three provinces. No seat was obtained in any of these. In the 2022 municipal elections, the party took part in 20 different municipalities, again being unable to win a seat. That year, the party gained the highest percentage of votes in the municipality of Urk, with 2.0%.[3]
The party was again running in the 2021 Dutch general election,[4] but gained no seats.[5] The party also intended to participate during the 2023 general election, but failed to deliver a sufficient amount of so-called 'support statements' and was therefore left out by the Electoral Council.[6]
According to the party's founder, Joop van Ooijen, the party's primary purpose is making Jesus known to the people.[7] The party opposes abortion, the European Union, and supports environmentalism.[7] Van Ooijen has said that the party's anti-abortion stance is non-negotiable, having said that he would "not sit at the table with someone who supports abortion, that is not open to discussion. We will not negotiate, that's what's different between us and the other Christian parties."[7] In that same interview, he expressed confidence that he would get the 64,000 votes in the 2017 Dutch general election required to obtain a seat,[7] but they would end up getting 3,099 votes.
The party stands for freedom of expression of faith. However, the party is opposed to the construction of new mosques, temples and other religious sites.[8]
Dutch general elections
- "Jezus Leeft". Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. 2021-07-27. Retrieved 2023-04-22.
- "Verkiezingsuitslagen voor Jezus leeft" [Election results for Jesus Lives]. Alle Cijfers (in Dutch). Retrieved 31 October 2023.
- "37 partijen nemen deel aan Tweede Kamerverkiezing". Kiesraad (in Dutch). 5 February 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- Tweede Kamer 17 maart 2021 - Uitslag, Kiesraad
- "Kiesraad: 26 partijen op het stembiljet 22 november, drie afgevallen" [Electoral Council: 26 parties on the ballot paper on November 22, three dropped out]. NOS (in Dutch). 13 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
- "'Jezus Leeft' doet mee aan Kamerverkiezingen". Visie (in Dutch). 8 December 2016. Retrieved 2019-07-01.
- "Feest bij Jezus Leeft van korte duur door foutje: toch geen zetel". RTL Nieuws (in Dutch). 2022-03-16. Retrieved 2023-11-29.