The Communist Party of the Netherlands (, CPN) is a Marxist-Leninist party in the Netherlands. The CPN was founded in 1992 as the New Communist Party-NCPN by former members of the Communist Party of the Netherlands who opposed its merger into GroenLinks. The party changed its name to CPN in 2026. The party releases a monthly newspaper called Manifest.

History In 1982, a group of members of the Communist Party of the Netherlands founded the newspaper Manifest, out of discontent with the CPN leadership. In 1984 this group founded the League of Communists in the Netherlands (VCN). The CPN dissolved in 1992 in order to make place for a new political party, GroenLinks, an alliance in which the CPN had participated since the 1980s. Subsequently, the VCN, together with many former members of the CPN, founded the NCPN.

In 1999, the local branch of the CPN in the municipality of Scheemda split from the party and continued as the United Communist Party (VCP), which has since won city council seats in Oldambt and Pekela.

In 2003, the Communist Youth Movement (CJB) was founded as the NCPN's political youth organization. According to a statement from the NCPN after its 7th conference, the CJB contributed to a revival of the party in terms of membership and lowered the average age of its members.

In December 2025, the party indicated that it would not participate in the 2026 Dutch municipal elections, because it could not find a suitable successor for Rinze Visser, councilor of De Fryske Marren, who did not stand for re-election due to health problems.

Ideology The CPN actively supports the socialist government of Cuba. The party opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq and is against Dutch military intervention through NATO or other military alliances. The party considers itself anti-capitalist, anti-fascist and anti-imperialist. It opposes both the active intervention of the European Union and NATO in the war in Ukraine but also the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. It believes that a Leninist view of anti-imperialism is not choosing sides in an inter-imperialist conflict.

The CPN claims to work to preserve the heritage of the Dutch communist movement through commemoration of events like the February strike, holding that anti-communist laws in Europe and the normalisation of far-right ideas are erasing this legacy. The party also participates in the struggle against discrimination towards women and minorities with a migrant background, and is against homophobia and transphobia."That the root causes of discrimination against women, against people from migrant backgrounds, against people with non-heterosexual orientation, against intersex and transgender people and against other minorities can be removed. This is the society for which the CPN, together with the CJB, and as part of the international communist movement, is fighting." —7th Congress of the NCPN: Political decision, page 39

Although the party only has limited electoral successes to date, it claims not to shun elections and instead purports to work with trade unions and other similar organisations to advance its agenda. According to a party report, "the CPN participates in elections to the best of its ability" and views "bourgeois representative bodies" as platforms to promote its agenda.

International activity The CPN is a founding member of the European Communist Action and participates in the annual International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties. The NCPN also often cooperates with fraternal parties like the Communist Party of Greece, Communist Party of Turkey, Communist Party of Cuba, Communist Party of Belgium, German Communist Party and the Communist Party of Luxembourg.

Elections The CPN has participated in elections to the House of Representatives, provincial councils, and municipal councils, but never in elections to the European Parliament. In the period between 1994 and 2002, the CPN was part of the governing majority coalition in the municipality of Reiderland. + House of Representatives Election Lead candidate Votes % Seats 1994Rinze Visser 11,630 0.13% 0 1998Engel Modderman 5,620 0.07% 0 2003Alejandro de Mello 4,860 0.05% 0

+ Provincial councils Province 1995 1999 2003 2007 Votes (%) Seats Votes (%) Seats Votes (%) Seats Votes (%) Seats Groningen 2,9551.3% 0 3,2461.4% 0 2,0570.8% 0 1,2300.5% 0 Friesland 1,2930.5% 0 8200.3% 0 Overijssel 5300.1% 0 8350.2% 0 North Holland 2,3970.3% 0 1,3020.2% 0 + Municipal councils Municipality 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 Votes (%) Seats Votes (%) Seats Votes (%) Seats Votes (%) Seats Votes (%) Seats Votes (%) Seats Votes (%) Seats Votes (%) Seats Amersfoort 6791.4% 0 2420.4% 0 1370.2% 0 Amsterdam 3,0171.0% 0 9680.4% 0 8190.3% 0 5110.2% 0 Bergen op Zoom 5011.9% 0 Breda 1830.3% 0 Enschede 5890.9% 0 3160.5% 0 4820.9% 0 2910.5% 0 2820.5% 0 Groningen 5010.6% 0 8661.0% 0 5390.6% 0 Heiloo 1431.2% 0 5344.6% 0 1,0259.2% 1 8117.4% 1 1,16410.4% 2 8827.4% 1 Hoorn 4171.5% 0 2100.9% 0 Lemsterland 90014.8% 2 73812.7% 2 90715.1% 2 1,03816.3% 3 94715.8% 2 Municipality merged to become De Fryske Marren De Fryske Marren Municipality did not exist 1,1745.7% 1 1,4626.3% 2 1,1684.9% 1 Middelburg 1350.8% 0 Opsterland 3112.1% 0 Reiderland 2,05250.2% 7 1,30335.7% 5 1,15034.1% 5 62118.3% 2 Municipalities merged to become Oldambt Scheemda 6958.9% 1 1,00212.9% 2 1101.5% 0 Winschoten 3904.0% 0 Oldambt Municipality did not exist 3102.3% 0 The Hague 2030.1% 0 Total 8,554 10 5,995 9 4,868 7 3,229 5 2,678 3 2,338 3 2,344 3 1,168 1

Notes

References

External links

Official website of the local branch Lemmer/De Fryske Marren