The anti-immigration PVV has not yet completed its lists of candidates to take part in the March provincial elections, the Volkskrant reports on Tuesday.

Of the 69 PVV councillors elected at the 2011 provincial elections, 25 have left the party.

Thirteen of them went shortly after the vote for a variety of reasons. The second wave stood down after leader Geert Wilders led supporters in an anti-Moroccan chant last year. Since then several more have quit, saying they are unhappy with the party’s ‘socialist’ policies.

The members of the 12 provincial governments go on to elect the 75 members of the upper house of parliament, or senate, so Wilders is keen to make the most of his chances.

Opinion polls suggest the PVV could increase its senate representation from 10 to up to 15.

Zwarte Piet

In several provinces, such as Noord-Brabant and Overijssel, the party has only named its campaign leader, the Volkskrant says and the Groningen PVV website ‘is focused on Zwarte Piet’.

In Noord and Zuid-Holland, where the provincial councils have most weight in the senate elections, the candidate lists are complete.

MEPs

In Noord-Holland, where four of the six PVV councillors elected in 2011 have quit, European parliamentarians Olaf Sturger and Hans Jansen and MP Martin Bosma are included.

The lists are also complete in Utrecht, Limburg and Flevoland.

The PVV has until next Monday to finalise its provincial election lists and until April 22 to finish its list of potential senators.