The 2020 Christian Democratic Appeal leadership election was called to elect the new leader and lead candidate (lijsttrekker) of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) in the run-up to the 2021 Dutch general election.
Background The position of party leader of the CDA had been vacant since the appointment of incumbent party leader Sybrand van Haersma Buma as mayor of Leeuwarden in May 2019. The CDA has no formal procedure in place for selecting a replacement. Initially, the party had intended to promote its leader in the House of Representatives, Pieter Heerma, to the position of party leader, but Heerma declined this offer.
Speculation that either Hugo de Jonge or Wopke Hoekstra would be selected instead, prompted Mona Keijzer to demand the CDA to hold an internal referendum over who the new party leader should be. Keijzer had already participated in earlier leadership elections, which she lost to Sybrand Buma.
Some party prominents, including Hugo de Jonge, feared a leadership election could divide the party and advised the executive board to appoint a new leader instead. Nonetheless, the board decided to hold an election to choose the new party leader.
Five party members announced their candidacy for the party leadership: Hugo de Jonge, Mona Keijzer, Pieter Omtzigt, Martijn van Helvert, and André Reumkens. The candidacy of Reumkens was declined by the board. The first round of the election was held between 6 and 11 July 2020. A second round was held between 11 and 14 July 2020.
Candidates Nominated The following CDA members announced their candidacy: CandidateBornPolitical office(s)EducationReligionAnnouncedEndorsements(age )Bruinisse, ZeelandDeputy Prime Minister ,Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport ,Alderman of Rotterdam Bachelor of EducationProtestantSybrand Buma,Ferdinand Grapperhaus,Ruth Peetoom(age )The Hague, South HollandMember of the House of RepresentativesDoctor of Philosophyin EconomicsRoman CatholicMona Keijzer
Eliminated CandidateBornPolitical office(s)EducationReligionAnnouncedEliminated(age )Edam, North HollandState Secretary for Economic Affairs andClimate Policy ,Member of the House of Representatives ,Alderwoman of Purmerend ,Deputy mayor and alderwoman of Waterland Master of Laws,Master of Public AdministrationRoman Catholic
Withdrawn CandidateBornPolitical office(s)EducationReligionAnnouncedWithdrawn(age )Sittard, LimburgMember of the House of Representatives ,Member of the States of Limburg Doctorandus in HistoryRoman Catholic
Declined André Reumkens, candidate 2018 municipal elections in Beekdaelen
Timeline Candidate status Nominated Nominated; eliminated after the first round Nominated; withdrawn from the electionEvents Nominations announced Voting opens Result announced (first round) Voting closes (second round) Result announced
Opinion polls
Date(s) administeredPollsourceSample 9–10 May 2019EenVandaag 1,000 CDA voters— 29% 9%—40% 3% 18% 300 CDA members— 20% 5%—59% 4% 12% 28 Oct – 7 Nov 2019 EenVandaag 2,283 CDA voters— 21% 16%—39% — 3% 21% March 2020 EenVandaag 1,188 CDA voters— 22% 14%—43% — 21% 27 April 2020 EenVandaag 1,188 CDA voters— 35% 9%—50% — 6% 27–30 Jun 2020 EenVandaag 2,250 CDA voters 0% 47% 15% 34% — — 4%* = not a candidate
Results Candidate First round Second round Hugo de Jonge 48.7% 50.7% Pieter Omtzigt 39.7% 49.3% Mona Keijzer 11.6% colspan="2" Source: NOS
Aftermath Following his victory, Hugo de Jonge announced that he and Omtzigt would run as lead candidates for the 2021 Dutch general election together, calling Omtzigt his "running mate". Four months later, however, De Jonge found that the position of party leader was difficult to combine with his role as Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport, given the attention required of him during the COVID-19 pandemic. On 12 November 2020, he resigned from his position as party leader. The day after, the party's executive board announced that it had chosen Wopke Hoekstra as the new party leader, despite the fact that Hoekstra did not participate in the leadership election.
Pieter Omtzigt claimed that party chair Rutger Ploum had promised him that he would be allowed to take De Jonge's place in the event of the latter's resignation, and expressed his dissatisfaction with Hoekstra's appointment. Omtzigt temporarily resigned from campaigning in February 2021, a month before the general election, because he was overworked. On 12 June 2021, Omtzigt left split from CDA and continued as an independent Member of Parliament. He alleged he was being harassed by CDA prominents for his investigations into the Dutch childcare benefits scandal and his critical stance in the leadership election.
References