ANPEdson Olf and Sylvana Simons embrace each other
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 18:42
“Institutional racism, discrimination, capitalism and colonialism, exploitation and destruction continue to destroy people’s freedom every day.” This was said by party leader Edson Olf at the Bij1 party conference in The Hague and he announced that he wants to change this.
At the meeting, the members finally decided that Bij1 will participate in the House of Representatives elections and they appointed Olf as party leader. He is, among other things, a district councilor in Rotterdam and vice-chairman of the party. Olf is a consultant by profession.
As leader of Bij1, Olf is the successor to Sylvana Simons, who also founded the party. Simons will not return after the elections, partly for health reasons, but also because she no longer wants to defend herself against accusations from two resigned councilors from Bij1 in Amsterdam that she believes are incorrect.
Accept people for who they are
Olf said he wants to continue fighting for a world in which people are accepted and appreciated for who they are. “Freedom and equality should not just be words, but a reality for all.”
He referred to words from his mother. He had told him that people like her in this country have to work two to three times as hard “to perhaps achieve the same thing if all goes well.” Olf ended his speech with: “Come together, break the chains, show your colour.”
Journalists were only allowed to be present at the conference during the speech of the party leader, not during parts such as determining the election manifesto and the list of candidates. The party says it wants to protect its members so that they can vote and speak freely.
Bij1 now has one seat in the House of Representatives. In the Peilingwijzer, a weighted average of the polls by Ipsos/EenVandaag and I&O Research, the party has 0 to 1 seat.
2023-10-01 16:42:47
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