September 8, 2025 Denk MPs (l-r) Stephan van Baarle, Dogukan Ergin and Ismail El Abassi. Photo: ANP/Bart Maat

Stephan van Baarle will lead Denk’s list of candidates for the election, two weeks after he stepped down as party leader in a row with its executive board.

Denk’s other two MPs, Dogukan Ergin and Ismail el Abassii, who backed Van Baarle in the dispute, are ranked second and third on the list. The next two candidates are both women, Elif Esen and Nassira Abaaziz.

Van Baarle quit on August 15, blaming the board for “undermining” him in his role as leader and sparking a war of words that led to chairman Ejder Köse and the rest of the board resigning.

Newspaper Trouw reported that the row concerned the selection of election candidates, with Van Baarle complaining the list was not diverse enough for a party that draws its votes mainly from urban minority ethnic communities.

Van Baarle said the final list was “diverse, energetic and determined” and “truly representative of the Netherlands”. Denk is polled to win between three and five seats at the election on October 29.

Election 2025 Politics

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