Forum voor Democratie dissident Henk Otten has been removed as the party’s prospective leader in the senate following a meeting of all the party’s candidates for the upper house parliament.

Otten, one of the founders of the party, has been under fire since giving an interview to the NRC newspaper which was highly critical of Forum’s leader Thierry Baudet and the way he was moving the party to the far right.

Later the same week, the NRC was tipped off with the news that Otten had paid himself €30,000 without the approval of other board members. Otten has since been stripped of his role as treasurer, party worker and board member and being sidelined in the senate was not unexpected.

The senate will be elected by the 570 members of the 12 provincial councils on May 27 and Forum emerged as the big winner in last month’s provincial vote. This means the party is likely to be the biggest in the 75 seat upper chamber.

The role of Forum’s leader in the senate is now likely to go to academic Paul Cliteur, who is number two on the party’s list.