It was already clear that GroenLinks-PvdA candidate Asma Lahlah has a lot of fans in her home city of Tilburg, and the former Tilburg city councilor also seems to be very popular in the rest of the country. It received 217,789 preferential votes in the House of Representatives elections that took place last week. This is by far the largest number of all nonpartisan leaders.
“I am touched,” Lahlah says with a broad smile. “Thank you all for your votes.” “It was really great to get 13,000 votes in Tilburg, but to also see that in the rest of the country feels like a huge mandate. I’m really overwhelmed.”
On Friday, Lahlah bid farewell to her work as a councilor in Tilburg, and celebrated the great victory there. “With a smile and tears. Today I received all kinds of messages from people around me in response to the news, which is very nice,” she says.
In recent days, she visited The Hague, where she held several talks. “There is almost nothing to compare with Tilburg, but I also feel very warmly welcomed in The Hague,” she laughs. “As long as I can be myself and have the space to question and learn things and make mistakes, because I definitely will, everything will be fine.”
As a local councilor in Tilburg, Asma Lahlah has fought against poverty for years, and this is what she will also do in the House of Representatives. But since the election results came out, I can only say that I still go to The Hague for more. Let’s make sure we have a community where everyone can be themselves and participate.
With such great popularity, you would think that the party leadership would also be within Hallah’s reach in the future. But the Helmond-born MP is not thinking about that yet. “It’s actually not that far away yet. We have Frans Timmermans in first and Jesse in third and I think it’s great to learn from these guys. I don’t know where the journey will take me, but I’m enjoying it to the fullest. If the question comes, I’ll think about it Seriously,” she laughs.
You may also find this interesting:
Isma Lahlah said this shortly after the election results came out, in which the Freedom Party became the largest party
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