According to the Electoral Regulation (PB 2021 nr 1), everyone must vote in secrecy. However, the process itself is not secret. 

When a voter arrives at their polling station to vote, they must submit their voter’s card. As per Article 63.1, the polling station announces, loudly (almost shouting), the voter number listed on the card, and this number is removed from the official voter registry. The number includes the voter's birth date. The polling station also loudly announces the full name of the voter as per the voter card. 

Therefore, everyone at the polling station knows who has voted and, in the end, who has not. 

According to the Electoral Regulation, every political party participating in the election can request a list of all voters. Along with the identification number, names, and family names, the list includes the place (district/city) where the voter was born, their address, and who is registered at their residence. Political parties are allowed to give anyone they choose a copy of the list. In the past, political parties paid people to sit outside polling stations, monitor the process, and report to the party. Thus, the party members who have the list can tell who has arrived and can deduce who has not voted. They can also identify which voters the party considers supporters and has arrived dressed in the colors of a party in opposition. 

The local situation I described is not illegal under the Personal Data Protection law, but is the process desirable? Does the public realize that their privacy may be compromised, and their data may fall into the wrong hands? Take note that the list mentioned above is already in the hands of political parties. Beware. No one listened to my observations in the past. Do we want change? Are we letting the Court decide? 

Alex David Rosaria (53) is a freelance consultant active in Asia & Pacific. He is a former Member of Parliament, Minister of Economic Affairs, State Secretary of Finance and UN Implementation Officer in Africa and Central America. He’s from Curaçao and has a MBA from the University of Iowa. (USA).