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Inpolitics, alead candidate (German:Spitzenkandidat;Dutch:lijsttrekker,lit. 'list puller') is the candidate placed first on aparty list. Inparliamentary systems, it is often the party's nominee for the position ofhead of government,[1] and theparty chair orparty leader.[2]
In theNetherlands, which uses a system ofopen-list proportional representation, the lead candidates in elections for theHouse of Representatives are almost always the parties' political leaders. When elected, the lead candidate usually becomes the party'sparliamentary leader in the House of Representatives. When acoalition is formed, the lead candidates of the governing parties may be offered senior positions in theCabinet, requiring them to vacate their seats in parliament. Traditionally, the lead candidate of the largest party in the governing coalition becomesPrime Minister.[3][4] However, following the2023 Dutch general election,PVV leaderGeert Wilders was not Prime Minister despite being the lead candidate of the largest party in theSchoof cabinet.[5]
The term is also used inprovincial,municipal,water board andisland council elections, as well as in elections to theEuropean Parliament and theSenate. In these elections, the lead candidates of national parties tend to be different from the party leaders. They are also not the parties' nominees for the positions ofKing's commissioner,mayor,dike-reeve orlieutenant governor.
InBelgium, elections to theChamber of Representatives only featureprovincial electoral lists since the2012–2014 state reform. As a consequence, there are usually six lead candidates per party. In general, one of them is the party leader. Prior to the state reform, some of the party leaders ran aslijsttrekker on theSenate list.