# Party for the Animals group in Noord-Holland halves in split

> Group chair Henrice Vonck and council member Marieke van Aesch have left the party and will sit as an independent group ahead of the provincial elections in March.

Politics · published 2026-10-27 20:07 · https://nlnow.nl/a/party-for-the-animals-group-in-noord-holland-halves-in-split/

Two of the four members of the Partij voor de Dieren (Party for the Animals) group in the Noord-Holland provincial council have left the party. Group chair Henrice Vonck and council member Marieke van Aesch will continue as an independent group, called Vonck Van Aesch.

The split halves the party's group in the provincial council. The two say they were put at 49th and 50th on the party's candidate list for the March elections. "Under these circumstances we can no longer bring ourselves to work for a party that treats its people like this," they said.

Vonck said: "Sadly, I am already the fourth group chair for whom the Party for the Animals no longer offers the safe environment in which we can work on our ideals."

Party secretary Paul van Gent said the national group regrets that two representatives took their seats with them, but thanks them for their efforts. He declined to comment on the candidate list: placement is decided through "an extensive and confidential process", he said.

Earlier this month Mirjam Fagel, the party's only council member in Overijssel, moved to the SP.

## Background

- **Partij voor de Dieren**: The Party for the Animals is a Dutch political party whose central focus is animal welfare and animal rights, with related environmental policy also part of its platform. It fields candidates in national, provincial and municipal elections, and it holds seats in the House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer), the Provincial States (Provinciale Staten) and municipal councils. Its members in these bodies sit and vote as a parliamentary group, and a group can split or change membership as members leave the party.

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