Political websites during the 1998 Parliamentary Elections in the Netherlands

The Dutch General Elections of May 1998 were particularly notable for the beginning of the use of the World Wide Web in Dutch election campaigns. Just like American and British political parties, the Dutch parties conducted their campaign not only in the streets and on TV but also in cyberspace. Nearly all of them established an election site where a range of information concerning the party’s candidates, manifesto and campaign could be obtained. Although most of these sites had already been set up, the Internet really gained momentum in Dutch politics during the election campaign. This was highlighted by the introduction of all kinds of non-partisan election sites. The impact of these websites on the election results was not very significant, but still they constitute a new element in the political process.