2006 Dublin Senior Football Championship, Rounds 1-4, Round 2, The Games
Thomas Davis, Parnells, O'Tooles, Garda, Na Fianna, Naomh Olaf, St Marys and St Annes progressed to the third round as they won their respective second round ties.


2006 Dublin Senior Football Championship, Rounds 1-4, Round 2, The Games
St Brigids 'B', Erins Hope, Whitehall Colmcille, Trinity Gaels, Clontarf, Naomh Barróg, Fingallians and St Maurs went on play to retain their senior status in the relegation section.


2006 Dublin Senior Football Championship, Rounds 1-4, Round 3, Structure
This draw was restricted by a rule that did not allow two clubs who have met earlier in the championship to meet again. Therefore, there was no chance of a repeat of a previous encounter. Round 3 consisted of sixteen teams: the eight losers from Round 2 plus the eight winners from the backdoor system. So it was eight games and the eight winners progressed to Round 4.


2006 Dublin Senior Football Championship, Rounds 1-4, Round 3, Structure
St Vincents, Erins Isle, Na Fianna, O'Tooles, St Marys, Ballinteer St Johns, Lucan Sarsfields and Kilmacud Crokes progressed to the fourth round having won their respective games.


2006 Dublin Senior Football Championship, Rounds 1-4, Round 3, Structure
Parnells, Garda, Naomh Mearnóg, St Sylvesters, St Marks, St Annes, Thomas Davis, and Naomh Olaf were knocked out of the competition for 2006, although they retained their senior status for the 2007 Dublin Senior Club Football Championship.


2006 Dublin Senior Football Championship, Rounds 1-4, Round 4
The draw for the fourth round or the last 16 took place on 15 August. The draw was from the second-round winners - St Brigid's, UCD, Ballyboden St Enda's, St Judes, Raheny, St Oliver Plunkett's/Eoghan Ruadh, Round Towers Clondalkin and Ballymun Kickhams and the third-round winners - Kilmacud Crokes, Ballinteer St John's, St Vincent's, Na Fianna, O'Toole's, Erin's Isle, Lucan Sarsfields and St Mary's. The winners of the second round were drawn against the third-round winners; they were separated by two distinct lots meaning the second-round winners were kept apart from third-round winners in the fourth-round draw. The draw revealed a potential tie of the round between champions Kilmacud Crokes and Ballyboden St Endas.


2006 Dublin Senior Football Championship, Rounds 1-4, Round 4
Round four saw the exit of Erin's Isle, Ballinteer St John's, Ballyboden St Endas, Ballymun Kickhams, Raheny, O'Tooles, St Marys and St Brigids.


2006 Dublin Senior Football Championship, Rounds 1-4, Round 4
St Vincent's, Round Towers(Clondalkin), St Oliver Plunketts/Eoghan Ruadh, Na Fianna, Lucan Sarsfields, St Judes, UCD and tournament favourites Kilmacud Crokes progressed to the last eight.


2006 Dublin Senior Football Championship, Quarterfinals
The quarter finals saw the exit of Lucan Sarsfields, St Judes, St Oliver Plunketts and Round Towers of Clondalkin. St Vincents, UCD, Na Fianna and the tournament favourites Kilmacud Crokes went on to the semi-finals. The quarter finals saw the first round in the competition so far to have had no drawn matches.


2006 Dublin Senior Football Championship, Semi-Final
The Dublin senior club football championship did not go ahead on the original 12 October date, due to an appeal by St Oliver Plunketts/Eoghan Ruadh and Kilmacud Crokes.


2006 Dublin Senior Football Championship, Semi-Final
A decision on the dates was to be decided pending the results of Plunkett's appeal which was to be heard by the Dublin GAC on 13 October.


2006 Dublin Senior Football Championship, Semi-Final
The Leinster council had given an extra week for the Dublin GAC to sort the issues. If the problems were not sorted in time, Dublin would not have a representative in the Leinster Senior Club Football Championship for the 2006/07 season.


2006 Dublin Senior Football Championship, Semi-Final, Na Fianna V St Oliver Plunketts/Eoghan Ruadh dispute
St Oliver Plunkett's/Eoghan Ruadh had lodged a complaint objecting to the eligibility of Na Fianna's former Mayo player Gary Mullins, who took part in the quarter final clash between the two teams.


2006 Dublin Senior Football Championship, Semi-Final, Na Fianna V St Oliver Plunketts/Eoghan Ruadh dispute
St Oliver Plunkett's lost their appeal to the Dublin County Board, therefore the Dublin GAC set the fixture of Na Fianna against St Vincents as originally planned.


2006 Dublin Senior Football Championship, Semi-Final, Na Fianna V St Oliver Plunketts/Eoghan Ruadh dispute
St Oliver Plunkett's, however, took their appeal to the Leinster Council in hope of being re-instated into the Dublin Championship. This further delayed the Dublin Championship and raised the possibility of the championship not being completed in time for Dublin to produce a representative in the Leinster championship. The Leinster council ruled in favour of the Dublin GAC and the semi final was slated to proceed on 19 October.


2006 Dublin Senior Football Championship, Semi-Final, Na Fianna V St Oliver Plunketts/Eoghan Ruadh dispute
As St Oliver Plunketts lost their appeal to the Leinster Council, Na Fianna played St Vincent's in the semi final clash as planned. The game was initially scheduled for Friday 27 October 2006 but was cancelled and rescheduled for Monday 30 October to enable Ireland International Rules captain Kieran McGeeney to be available for the first test against Australia at Pearse Stadium.


2006 Dublin Senior Football Championship, Semi-Final, Na Fianna V St Oliver Plunketts/Eoghan Ruadh dispute, Gary Mullins' appeal to the Disputes Resolution Authority
Gary Mullins also appealed to the Disputes Resolution Authority on 13 October 2006 to overturn a 12-week ban he received due to receiving a red card while playing for the Chicago Wolfe Tone's club at the North American Senior Football final in Philadelphia. He lost this appeal.


2006 Dublin Senior Football Championship, Semi-Final, Kilmacud Crokes V Dublin County board dispute
The Dublin Championship was met with more scandal when Kilmacud Crokes postponed their game against UCD, stating that it was not within five days of their game against Lucan Sarsfields in the quarter final. This had the effect that Kilmacud had breached Rule 116 of the official guide. The GAC met Kilmacud representatives on 17 October to discuss the matter. The meeting of the GAC resulted in Kimacud Crokes being excluded from the Senior Club Football Championship.


2006 Dublin Senior Football Championship, Semi-Final, Kilmacud Crokes V Dublin County board dispute
UCD offered Kilmacud a replay thus reinstating Crokes, which would guarantee a Dublin representative in the Leinster Senior Club Football Championship. The semi final between the students and the Crokes was slated to take place on Thursday 26 October 2006. Kilmacud Crokes went on to play the game against the Students and were narrowly defeated, giving the Dublin Senior Football Championship its first finalist.


2006 Dublin Senior Football Championship, Semi-Final, Kilmacud Crokes V Dublin County board dispute
The winners of each semi final went on to the Dublin senior club football championship final. The losing teams were eliminated from the competition and there was no third and fourth place games, therefore a loss would prove to be the respective teams final fixture in the Dublin championship.


2006 Dublin Senior Football Championship, Semi-Final, Kilmacud Crokes V Dublin County board dispute
Dublin Senior Club Football favourites Kilmacud Crokes crashed out of the Dublin championship to UCD in a tight game. UCD went on their first final since 2002. The 2006 final was a repeat of the 2002 final, as Na Fianna crashed out of the Dublin championship to northside rivals St Vincents. UCD won the 2002 final against St Vincents who were seeking to retain their first title since 1984.


2006 Dublin Senior Football Championship, Dublin Senior Club Football Final
The teams for the final were selected from the following players:UCD: S Gallagher, D Geraghty, P Navin, J McCarthy, M Duffy, E Cuiv, M Dunne, S Brady, J Sherry, B Sheehan, S Lennon, C Rogers, Colm Judge, A O'Malley, C O'Dwyer, J Kindergen, P McConway, C Fagan, M Ward, J Hanley, P Earls, N McNamee, K Doherty, B Quill, J Donoghue, W Minchin, B Mullin, P McNulty, F Canavan, E McHugh, J Tierney, B O hAnnaidh, N O'Connaughton, B Teehan, B Collins.


2006 Dublin Senior Football Championship, Dublin Senior Club Football Final
St Vincents: M Savage, W Lowry, E Brady, A Costello, P Conlon, G Brennan, R Fallon, P Gilroy, M Loftus, K Golden, N Dunne, T Doyle, D Connolly, T Diamond, T Quinn, E Somerville, J Calvert, C Hayes, J Moloney, B Manning, C Hayden, G Dent, S Loughlin, H Coughlan, A Stack, C Brady, R Brady, R Drumgoole.


2006 Dublin Senior Football Championship, Dublin Senior Club Football Final
Team:S GallagherJ McCarthyP NavinE O CúivM DuffyB QuillM DunneM WardJ SherryS BradyS LennonB SheehanP EarlsC RogersC O'Dwyer


2006 Dublin Senior Football Championship, Dublin Senior Club Football Final
Match rules:70 minutes. Replay if scores still level. Maximum of 5 substitutions.


2006 Dublin Senior Football Championship, Dublin Senior Club Football Final
Team:M SavageW LowryE BradyA CostelloP ConlonG BrennanR FallonP GilroyM LoftusH CoughlanT DiamondD ConnollyK GoldenT DoyleT Quinn


2006 Dublin Senior Football Championship, Dublin Senior Club Football Final
UCD were crowned winners of the Dublin senior football championship and then went on to play in the Leinster Senior Club Football Championship against the Meath champions Wolfe Tones.


2006 Dublin Senior Hurling Championship
This is a round-up of the 2006 Dublin Senior Hurling Championship. The previous champions were UCD, who did not have a chance to retain their title this year as they were not entered in the competition. Craobh Chiaráin won the 2006 championship by Ballyboden St Endas to claim their 8th title. Craobh went on to the Leinster senior club hurling championship preliminary round against Mount Leinster Rangers of Carlow. They defeated Mount Leinster Rangers to go on to the semi final of the Leinster championship against Birr of Offaly.


2006 Dublin Senior Hurling Championship, Final
Craobh Chiaráins victory over Ballyboden St Endas meant that they progressed to the preliminary round of the Leinster championship against the Carlow hurling champions Mount Leinster Rangers. They lost heavily as was expected.


2006 Dublin Senior Hurling Championship, Final
Team:S Chester (GK)G KellyK O'DonoghueDamien O'ReillyK ElliotDerek J KingstonD ShanleyP O'BoyleJ McGuirk (Capt.) A McCrabbeK EnglishG EnnisS McDonnell.


2006 Dublin Senior Hurling Championship, Final
Match rules:60 minutes. Replay if scores still level. Maximum of 5 substitutions.


2006 Dublin Senior Hurling Championship, Final
Team:C McCormackC RyanS PerkinsA ReillyM KennyD SpainC KeaneyS HineyD SweeneyD CurtinJ DuffyD DalyE CarrollG MaguireS Durkin


2006 Dublin Women's Soccer League
The 2006 Dublin Women's Soccer League was the 13th season of the women's association football league featuring teams from the Greater Dublin Area. The season began on 14 May and concluded on 30 August. UCD won the title for the fourth successive season.


2006 Dublin riots
A series of riots in Dublin on 25 February 2006 was precipitated by a controversial proposed march down O'Connell Street of a unionist demonstration. The disturbances began when members of the Garda Síochána attempted to disperse a group of counter-demonstrators blocking the route of the proposed march. The situation escalated as local youths joined forces with the counter-demonstrators.


2006 Dublin riots, Background
Love Ulster was a controversial Unionist organisation dedicated to commemorating the Unionist victims of The Troubles in Northern Ireland. This was organised in part by Willie Frazer of Families Acting for Innocent Relatives (FAIR).


2006 Dublin riots, Background
It was a partisan group established to voice outrage at killings by the Republican paramilitary organisations, but it has been criticised for not doing the same for victims of loyalist paramilitary organisations. Frazer had said of loyalist paramilitary prisoners that "They should never have been locked up in the first place", and that he had "a lot of time for Billy Wright."


2006 Dublin riots, Background
An example of this alleged attitude is the previous displaying of the picture of an Ulster Volunteer Force member who was allegedly involved, among others, in the murder of 26 people in Dublin in the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan Bombings, and who was himself killed by the Provisional IRA in 1976. His picture had appeared at FAIR rallies and an organiser of the Love Ulster demonstration previously told a republican newspaper that he would not guarantee that images of the murder suspect would not be displayed during the demonstration.


2006 Dublin riots, Background
The Love Ulster march in Dublin was to consist of a uniformed band, several hundred activists (including some from the Orange Order) and relatives of victims, all of whom would march from Parnell Street north of the River Liffey, down O'Connell Street, past Trinity College onto Nassau Street, Dawson Street and Molesworth Street, and eventually reaching Leinster House, the seat of the Oireachtas (the Irish parliament), on Kildare Street.


2006 Dublin riots, Background
The march of this group in Dublin was viewed as provocative by some Irish nationalists and many Irish republicans, particularly in the context of an Orange Order march. The Orange Order has been accused of being a sectarian organisation and is known for its anti-Catholicism. The right to march was supported by the main Irish political parties and the march was authorised by the Garda Síochána. Love Ulster had organised a similar rally in Belfast in October 2005.


2006 Dublin riots, The riot
Sinn Féin, an Irish republican political party, did not organise a protest, and said that the march should be allowed to go ahead, calling for republicans to ignore the march. Republican Sinn Féin had an organised presence.


2006 Dublin riots, The riot
Their protest blocked the north eastern junction of O'Connell Street and Parnell Street. The small Republican Sinn Féin group (and some activists from the Irish Republican Socialist Party) were joined by several hundred local youths. Before the violence broke out, they chanted republican chants. Several thousand bystanders were also on the scene, but took no part in the subsequent rioting. When the marchers had formed up at the top of Parnell Square and their bands began to play in anticipation of the start of the march, gardaí attempted to disperse the protest at around 12:45. At this point, scuffles broke out between protesters and Gardaí.


2006 Dublin riots, The riot
After the failure of the initial garda effort to disperse the protesters, the violence escalated. The Garda Public Order Unit was deployed and stones and metal railings – to be used for renovation work on O'Connell Street – were thrown at gardaí by protesters; as were fireworks, bricks, crude petrol bombs, and other missiles. As the rioting continued, the ranks of the rioters were swelled by many local teenagers who had not taken part in the initial protest. Several barricades were constructed from building materials on the street to impede the march and the gardaí.


2006 Dublin riots, The riot
The march was due to start at 12:30, but as the violence went on the gardaí decided against trying to escort the marchers through O'Connell Street, and at about 13:30 the assembled marchers returned to the coaches that had brought them to Dublin from Northern Ireland. The three coaches were then driven to Leinster House, where a small parade was carried out, and a letter was handed to Irish Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell. They were then escorted out of the city. One of the coaches was attacked by stone throwers on the way home.


2006 Dublin riots, The riot
Violence continued sporadically on O'Connell Street for another hour or so. The Gardaí, advancing from the northern end of the street gradually pushed the rioters back southwards. The most sustained violence took place around the General Post Office building, where the rioters initially sat down in protest and then, several of them having been batoned, regrouped behind burning barricades and threw rocks, paving slabs and one or possibly two petrol bombs at Gardaí. Several Gardaí, protesters and a number of journalists from RTÉ and TV3 were injured.


2006 Dublin riots, The riot
RTÉ's chief news correspondent, Charlie Bird was singled out for attack by some rioters and was kicked and punched while being called an "Orange bastard" before being rescued by the Garda SDU officers. Charlie Bird had been a member of the Workers' Party of Ireland which had split from Sinn Féin in 1970 and was seen as highly critical of the Republican Movement. However some of the violence appeared to be entirely random in its targets. For instance several bystanders were attacked and a woman who was five months pregnant was punched in the stomach.


2006 Dublin riots, The riot
The woman later sent a text message to NewsTalk 106 to thank the Gardaí and ambulance service who looked after her after the incident. In addition, the windows of several businesses, including Foot Locker, Schuh, and Ulster Bank near O'Connell Bridge, were smashed and at least one shop (Footlocker shoe shop) was looted. Among those arrested for looting this shop were a number of foreign nationals as well as locals – indicating that in the latter stages of the riot, much of the disturbances were opportunistic – inspired by vandalism or desire for theft rather than politically motivated.


2006 Dublin riots, The riot
While the stand off on O'Connell Street was still going on, several hundred rioters followed the Unionist coaches to the Nassau Street area where they set alight a number of cars and damaged several businesses. Again the attacks on cars and businesses in this area appears to have been entirely at random. On the other hand, the headquarters of the Progressive Democrats party (who are very critical of the Irish Republican movement) on South Frederick Street off Nassau Street was also attacked, which seems to indicate at least some political motivation among the rioters.


2006 Dublin riots, The riot
Further skirmishes broke out around the River Liffey at O'Connell Bridge, Aston Quay, Fleet Street and Temple Bar, as the Gardaí re-took O'Connell street, before the rioters dispersed. The most serious property damage was in the Nassau Street area, where three cars were burnt out, windscreens were smashed, and businesses had their windows broken. Many people also became trapped in shops and restaurants, including branches of McDonald's and Burger King.


2006 Dublin riots, The riot
Having eventually dispersed the rioters, the gardaí then closed O'Connell Street to facilitate a cleanup of the scene by building workers. Media reports have estimated the cost of the cleanup job at €50,000, and Dublin Chamber of Commerce placed loss of earnings for businesses in the city due to the riots at €10,000,000.


2006 Dublin riots, The riot
Estimates for the number of unionist marchers before the event were predicted to be over 1,000. However, only eight coach loads turned up in Dublin, indicating a far smaller number, in the region of 3–400. Estimates for the number of counter-demonstrators vary between 300 and 7,000. The number is made much more difficult to determine by the presence of the several thousand bystanders at the scene who did not take part. Most of the rioters appeared to be local youths, though some who brandished leaflets and other political literature were clearly political activists.


2006 Dublin riots, Injuries and arrests
A total of 14 people, including six gardaí and a small number of journalists and photographers, were hospitalised as a result of the rioting. A further 41 people were arrested, according to RTÉ news. As of 27 February 2006, 13 had been charged. Twenty six people were convicted in January 2009 for their part in the disturbances and given sentences of up to five years. Two were described as 'alcoholics'. One of them and a teenage boy were 'homeless'. Three were not Irish – one Georgian, a Romanian and a Moldovan were convicted of looting shops on O’Connell Street. Two had travelled from Offaly, one from Galway and one from Donegal for the riot. All the rest came from Dublin.


2006 Dublin riots, Official condemnation
Then-Taoiseach Bertie Ahern condemned the riots, saying, "It is the essence of Irish democracy and republicanism that people are allowed to express their views freely and in a peaceful manner. People who wantonly attack Gardaí and property have no respect for their fellow citizens." Minister for Justice Michael McDowell, opposition leaders Enda Kenny of Fine Gael and Pat Rabbitte of the Labour Party and Sinn Féin Dublin TD Sean Crowe also condemned the day's events.


2006 Dublin riots, Official condemnation
Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams added his voice to the condemnation, saying, "There is no justification for what happened this afternoon in Dublin. Sinn Féin had appealed to people to ignore this loyalist parade and not to be provoked by it. Our view was that it should not be opposed in any way and we made that clear. Regrettably a small, unrepresentative group chose to ignore our appeal." The President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, also condemned the rioters. Jeffrey Donaldson of the Democratic Unionist Party, who was in Dublin to address the Love Ulster march, said he was 'appalled' by the violence.


2006 Dublin riots, Official condemnation
Mary Harney leader of the government coalition member Progressive Democrats party, whose offices were attacked by rioters said, "I don't have much respect for the Orange Order, because it is a sectarian, bigoted organisation, but I do respect people's right to march... I think that they have got a great coup in being prevented from marching. Those that sought to stop them have played right into their hands."


2006 Dublin riots, Official condemnation
Among the few groups not to condemn the day's events were Republican Sinn Féin, who issued a statement condemning what they said was an "underestimate of the true level of opposition to the march by the Irish government" and the Irish Socialist Workers Party, who stated in a press release that "Socialists do not join in the condemnation of young working class people who riot against the police".


2006 Dublin riots, Official condemnation
O'Connell Street was closed off while the disturbances were occurring and afterwards for the clean-up operation but was re-opened later in the evening, although the majority of local businesses remained closed for the rest of the day.


2006 Duke Blue Devils football team
The 2006 Duke Blue Devils football team represented the Duke University in the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was led by head coach Ted Roof. They played their home games at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, North Carolina.


2006 Dunfermline and West Fife by-election
The Dunfermline and West Fife by-election was held on 9 February 2006, following the death of the sitting Labour MP Rachel Squire, on 6 January. The by-election was the first seat to change hands in the 2005 Parliament, when Willie Rennie won the seat for the Liberal Democrats, gaining it from Labour by 1,800 votes. The BBC reported a swing from Labour to the Liberal Democrats of 16.24%.


2006 Dunfermline and West Fife by-election
It was the first time Labour had lost a seat at a Westminster by-election in Scotland since the Scottish National Party won the Glasgow Govan by-election in 1988, and the first time Labour had ever lost to the Liberal Democrats, or their predecessors the Liberal Party, in a Scottish Westminster by-election.


2006 Dunfermline and West Fife by-election
The by-election took place in the middle of a leadership election for the Liberal Democrats, and the party was perceived in the media to be declining in the polls as a result of negative publicity surrounding the resignation of former leader Charles Kennedy, as well as revelations about the private lives of Mark Oaten and Simon Hughes.


2006 Dunfermline and West Fife by-election
The constituency of Dunfermline and West Fife was first created for the United Kingdom Parliament at the 2005 general election and saw a comfortable Labour win at that election. It was the second Westminster by-election in a Scottish constituency since the 2005 general election. In the 2005 Livingston by-election, Labour retained the seat, with the Scottish National Party second, but 2,680 votes behind. The Livingston constituency lies just across the Firth of Forth from the Dunfermline and West Fife constituency.


2006 Dunfermline and West Fife by-election
Labour gained the seat back at the 2010 general election, with the Liberal Democrats in second place.


2006 Dunfermline and West Fife by-election, Campaign
The Courier reported on 23 January that leaked minutes of a meeting on 11 January at Westminster revealed that "senior Scottish Liberal Democrats do not believe their party has any chance of winning the Dunfermline and West Fife by-election", and that "their aim is to beat the SNP rather than topple Labour". This suggestion was backed up on 27 January by a poll in  The Daily Telegraph that put the Lib Dems at 13% UK-wide (down 9% on Election 2005), their worst position since the 2001 general election.


2006 Dunfermline and West Fife by-election, Campaign
The Sunday Herald reported on 29 January that they had "evidence of a high-level "fix" to select (the Labour) candidate", because "party bosses sent out a leaflet on behalf of Catherine Stihler’s campaign hours before she was selected to fight the seat." This story followed earlier reports of a similar row over the selection of the Conservative and Unionist candidate: Fife Tory leader Stuart Randall’s claim that he was left off the shortlist for being "far too old and middle-aged to fit the bill".


2006 Dunfermline and West Fife by-election, Campaign
Randall, who stood as Conservative candidate against Gordon Brown in Dunfermline East at the 2001 and 2005 general elections and fought Dunfermline East at the 2003 Scottish Parliament election, was aged only 43. Local Conservative activists were reported to be furious that such a high-profile local figure was left off the shortlist of candidates for the by-election.


2006 Dunfermline and West Fife by-election, Campaign
The by-election electorate for the constituency was 72,225, a slight increase (of 2.04%) on the general election in May 2005.


2006 Dunfermline and West Fife by-election, Implications (for UK and Scottish elections)
The constituency neighbours Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath, the seat of Gordon Brown, former Leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister. Brown actually lived in the Dunfermline and West Fife constituency; he was Chancellor of the Exchequer at the time. The constituency is also near to North East Fife, then the constituency of Sir Menzies Campbell, former leader of the Liberal Democrats (although he was only a leadership contender at the time). Prior to the election, it was speculated that a poor showing for either party in the vicinity of Brown and/or Campbell's political bases could impact upon their chances of winning their respective parties' leaderships.


2006 Dunfermline and West Fife by-election, Implications (for UK and Scottish elections)
The result of this Westminster by-election were seen as a litmus test of the parties' standing prior to the 2007 Scottish Parliament election; the Liberal Democrats proceeded to win the Dunfermline West seat, which comprises the bulk of Dunfermline and West Fife, from Labour in the 2007 Holyrood election. The results of all by-elections in Scotland have been particularly highly valued by psephologists and political commentators since the demise of the last regular, monthly Scottish voting-intention poll (by The Herald and Taylor Nelson Sofres System 3) at the end of 2003. The result was also notable as it came at a time when Labour's national opinion poll ratings were very high.


2006 Dunfermline and West Fife by-election, Implications (for UK and Scottish elections)
Immediately after the election, the Liberal Democrats claimed that the results showed they were the challengers to the Labour Party, and that the Conservatives had failed their first electoral test under their new leader, David Cameron.


2006 Duramed Futures Tour
The 2006 Duramed Futures Tour was a series of professional women's golf tournaments held from March through September 2006 in the United States. The Futures Tour is the second-tier women's professional golf tour in the United States and is the "official developmental tour" of the LPGA Tour.


2006 Duramed Futures Tour
The age minimum age for participation was lowered to 17 for the 2006 season.


2006 Duramed Futures Tour, Schedule and results
The number in parentheses after winners' names shows the player's total number of official money, individual event wins on the Futures Tour including that event.


2006 Duramed Futures Tour, Leading money winners
These top five money winners at the end of the 2006 season were awarded fully exempt status on the LPGA Tour for the 2007 season.


2006 Duramed Futures Tour, Major tournament
In 2006, the Futures Tour held its first major tournament. The Michelob Ultra Futures Players Championship in Decatur, Illinois, which has been on the Tour's schedule since 1985, was the Tour's first 72-hole event, and carried the Tour's largest purse ever — $100,000. The winner, Salimah Mussani, received a sponsor's exemption to play in the LPGA's State Farm Classic  in September, 2006. Mussani, a native of Canada, also played in the CN Canadian Women's Open, an August 2006 event on the LPGA Tour.


2006 Duramed Futures Tour, 2006 traffic death
On June 18, 2006, while driving from a tournament in Decatur, Illinois to the next tournament in Lima, Ohio, Futures Tour player Gaelle Truet was killed in a car accident at age 27. She was the first Tour player to perish in a traffic incident in the 26 years of the Futures Tour and the 50 years of the LPGA Tour.


2006 Dutch Figure Skating Championships
This is the current revision of this page, as edited by 58.143.166.173 (talk) at 06:55, 25 June 2020. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this version.


2006 Dutch Figure Skating Championships
The 2006 Dutch Figure Skating Championships took place between 16 and 18 December 2005 in 's-Hertogenbosch. Skaters competed in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, and ice dancing.


2006 Dutch National Time Trial Championships – Women's time trial
The Women's time trial of the 2006 Dutch National Time Trial Championships cycling event took place on 20 June 2006 in and around Oudenbosch, Netherlands over a 21.3 km long parcours.


2006 Dutch National Track Championships
The 2006 Dutch National Track Championships were the Dutch national Championship for track cycling. The competitions took place at Sportpaleis Alkmaar in Alkmaar, the Netherlands from December 28 to December 30. Competitions were held of various track cycling disciplines in different age, gender and disability categories.


2006 Dutch National Track Championships – Men's keirin
The men's keirin at the 2006 Dutch National Track Championships in Alkmaar took place at Sportpaleis Alkmaar on December 28, 2006.


2006 Dutch National Track Championships – Men's keirin
Theo Bos won the gold medal, Teun Mulder took silver and Patrick Bos won the bronze.


2006 Dutch National Track Championships – Men's points race
The men's points race at the 2006 Dutch National Track Championships in Alkmaar took place at Sportpaleis Alkmaar on December 28, 2006. 22 athletes participated in the contest.


2006 Dutch National Track Championships – Men's points race
Pim Ligthart won the points race with 2 points ahead of Arno van der Zwet and 4 points ahead of Sander Lormans.


2006 Dutch National Track Championships – Women's 500 m time trial
The women's 500 m track time trial at the 2006 Dutch National Track Championships in Alkmaar took place at Sportpaleis Alkmaar on December 28, 2006. Seven athletes participated in the contest


2006 Dutch National Track Championships – Women's 500 m time trial
Willy Kanis won the gold medal, Lianne Wagtho took silver and Sigrid Jochems won the bronze.


2006 Dutch National Track Championships – Women's 500 m time trial, Competition format
Because of the number of entries, there was not a qualification round for this discipline. Consequently, the event was run direct to the final.


2006 Dutch National Track Championships – Women's individual pursuit
The women's individual pursuit at the 2006 Dutch National Track Championships in Alkmaar took place at Sportpaleis Alkmaar from December 29 to December 30, 2006.


2006 Dutch National Track Championships – Women's individual pursuit
Vera Koedooder won the gold medal, Marlijn Binnendijk took silver and Ellen van Dijk won the bronze.


2006 Dutch National Track Championships – Women's individual pursuit, Competition format
The tournament started with a qualifying round on December 29. The two fastest qualifiers advanced to the gold medal final on December 30. The numbers three and four competed against each other for the bronze medal, also on December 30.


2006 Dutch National Track Championships – Women's individual pursuit, Results, Qualification (top 4)
The qualification round took place in the afternoon of December 29.


2006 Dutch National Track Championships – Women's individual pursuit, Results, Finals
The finals took place in the morning of December 30.


2006 Dutch National Track Championships – Women's points race
The women's points race at the 2006 Dutch National Track Championships in Alkmaar took place at Sportpaleis Alkmaar on December 30, 2006


2006 Dutch National Track Championships – Women's points race, Competition format
There were no qualification rounds for this discipline. Consequently, the event was run direct to the final.


2006 Dutch Open (badminton)
The 2006 Dutch Open in badminton was held in Den Bosch, Netherlands, from November 8, 2006 to November 12, 2006.


2006 Dutch Open (tennis)
The 2006 Dutch Open was an ATP men's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts staged in Amersfoort, Netherlands. It was the 47th edition of the tournament that was part of the International Series of the 2006 ATP Tour and was held from 17 July until 23 July 2006. Third-seeded Novak Djokovic won his first event of the year, and the first title of his professional career.


2006 Dutch Open (tennis), Finals, Doubles
Alberto Martín /  Fernando Vicente defeated  Lucas Arnold /  Christopher Kas 6–4, 6–3


2006 Dutch Open – Doubles
Martín García and Luis Horna were the defending champions, but did not participate this year.


2006 Dutch Open – Doubles
Alberto Martín and Fernando Vicente won in the final 6–4, 6–3, against Lucas Arnold Ker and Christopher Kas.


2006 Dutch Open – Singles
Fernando González was the defending champion, but did not participate this year.


2006 Dutch Open – Singles
Novak Djokovic won the tournament (his first career title), beating Nicolás Massú in the final, 7–6(7–5), 6–4.


2006 Dutch TT
The 2006 Dutch TT was the eighth round of the 2006 MotoGP Championship. It took place on the weekend of 22–24 June 2006 at the TT Circuit Assen located in Assen, Netherlands.


2006 Dutch TT, Championship standings after the race (MotoGP)
Below are the standings for the top five riders and constructors after round eight has concluded.


2006 Dutch general election
General elections were held in the Netherlands on 22 November 2006 following the fall of the Second Balkenende cabinet. The elections proved relatively successful for the governing Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) which remained the largest party with 41 seats, a loss of only three seats. The largest increase in seats was for the Socialist Party (SP), which went from nine to 25 seats.


2006 Dutch general election
The main opposition party, the social-democratic Labour Party (PvdA) lost nine of its 42 seats, while the right-liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and the progressive liberal Democrats 66 lost a considerable portion of their seats, six of 28 and three of six, respectively. New parties, such as the right-wing Party for Freedom (PVV) of former VVD MP Geert Wilders and the animal rights party Party for the Animals (PvdD) were also successful, with the PVV winning nine seats and the PvdD winning two, thereby becoming the first animal rights group to enter a European Parliament.


2006 Dutch general election
The government formation talks led to the installation of the Christian-social fourth Balkenende cabinet, composed of the CDA, PvdA and ChristianUnion on 22 February 2007.


2006 Dutch general election, Background, Internal elections
In the month before the fall of the cabinet two parties held internal elections on who would lead their parties in the next elections, which were scheduled for 2007. In the internal election of the conservative-liberal VVD the more liberal State Secretary for Science and Higher education Mark Rutte beat the more conservative Minister without portfolio for Immigration and Integration Rita Verdonk. In the internal election of the progressive liberal D66 the more radical democratic minister without portfolio for government reform Alexander Pechtold beat the more social-liberal chair of the parliamentary party Lousewies van der Laan.


2006 Dutch general election, Background, Fall of the Cabinet
The next Dutch general election was originally scheduled for 15 May 2007 as the parliament was to be dissolved on 2 April 2007. However, it was announced that elections would be held on 22 November 2006, as Prime Minister, Jan Peter Balkenende, offered the resignation of the cabinet on 30 June 2006 after one of the coalition partners, D66, withdrew their support from the cabinet the day before over Rita Verdonk's treatment of the Ayaan Hirsi Ali case. A new cabinet continued for five months as a care taker cabinet until the elections.


2006 Dutch general election, Background, Fall of the Cabinet
The opposition had pressed for speedy elections because they were on a winning streak. The late date for the elections probably worked to the advantage of the CDA because in those five months the economy improved and in the past the biggest coalition partner had always come out as the biggest party if the economy blooms. A major issue in the campaigns was whether this improving economy was because of or in spite of the right-wing government.


2006 Dutch general election, Background, Splintered Fortuynists
After the fall of the cabinet several new small right-wing parties announced that they would run. Most of these parties either came out of the remains of Pim Fortuyn's Pim Fortuyn List (LPF) or the liberal VVD. In the period before the elections the small right was characterized by a chaos of secessions, new formations and party switches. Former Rotterdam alderman Marco Pastors and member of parliament for the LPF Joost Eerdmans formed Eén NL.


2006 Dutch general election, Background, Splintered Fortuynists
Party for the Netherlands was led by former LPF minister Hilbrand Nawijn, while Wilders recruited people for his new Party for Freedom, which would take part in the 2006 elections. Nawijn and Wilders became independent in parliament at that time, while Eerdmans has formed the "Group Eerdmans-Van Schijndel" along with former VVD MP Anton van Schijndel. Two other LPF politicians have formed one man fractions but they have not formed their own party: Gerard van As, former leader of the LPF, and Gonny van Oudenallen, also former LPF.


2006 Dutch general election, Background, Splintered Fortuynists
Margot Kraneveldt left the LPF, returned her seat to the party and joined the social-democratic PvdA. Meanwhile, the LPF announced that it would also run the next elections, under the name "Fortuyn". The party is led by Olaf Stuger, who served as member of parliament in the period 2002–2003 and returned to parliament in 2006, to replace Gerard van As.


2006 Dutch general election, Background, Exodus of prominent politicians
Several prominent politicians announced they would step down before the elections. Some commentators spoke of a large exodus. Within the liberal VVD former chair of the parliamentary party Jozias van Aartsen announced he would retire, as did his vice-chair Bibi de Vries, Frans Weisglas the current speaker of parliament, and ministers Hans Hoogervorst, Sybilla Dekker, state secretary Melanie Schultz van Haegen and Henk van Hoof. Within the CDA, ministers Cees Veerman and Karla Peijs announced they would not return, as did state secretary Clemence Ross. Both D66's current chairperson Lousewies van der Laan and her predecessor Boris Dittrich also announced they would not return.


2006 Dutch general election, Background, Turkish-Dutch candidates and the Armenian genocide
On 26 September 2006, a candidate for the Labour Party, Erdinç Saçan, was removed by his party, because he would not hold to the party stance that the Armenian genocide was caused by the Young Turks. That same evening, the CDA announced that two of their candidates, Ayhan Tonca and Osman Elmaci, have been removed as well, because of the same issue. Both parties agreed that all their members should openly conform to the party's point of view on this sensitive human rights issue.


2006 Dutch general election, Background, Turkish-Dutch candidates and the Armenian genocide
The sensitivity over these issues was underlined when the speaker of the Turkish parliament, Bülent Arınç, in response threatened the Netherlands with diplomatic action over this incident. Namik Tan, spokesperson for the Turkish Department of Foreign Affairs said that "we are deeply worried about the one-sided approach of our ally Netherlands’ political parties on the so-called Armenian genocide as this puts a limit on the freedom of expression." Labour Party leader Wouter Bos later said that the term genocide is used too easily, and that he rather speak of the "Armenian Question."


2006 Dutch general election, Background, News of possible mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners in 2003
De Volkskrant newspaper published a story just a week before the election saying that Dutch soldiers "tortured" Iraqi prisoners in Iraq, back in 2003. Defense minister Henk Kamp ordered an immediate (re-)investigation into the matter, but said that earlier information about this case did not result in the military police and Dutch public prosecutors to start a criminal investigation.


2006 Dutch general election, Background, News of possible mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners in 2003
Left-wing parties, such as the Labour Party (PvdA), which demanded an immediate parliamentary investigation were later rebuked by military commander Dick Berlijn, who stated that the left-wing opposition tarnished the reputation of the Dutch Department of Defense by their incriminating language, while nothing happened in Iraq. Mark Rutte, leader of the VVD, even went as far as to say that this Iraq story was a manipulation in order to influence the elections.


2006 Dutch general election, Background, News of possible mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners in 2003
In an open letter to De Volkskrant on the day of the Dutch elections, defense minister Kamp said the news about possible mistreatment was deceptive, and that the editor of De Volkskrant should feel being misused by the sources for this story. The Department of Defense in the meantime is demanding a rectification of the story published by De Volkskrant.


2006 Dutch general election, Background, News of possible mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners in 2003
A Dutch magazine, Elsevier, later (January 2007) reported that the no.5 candidate of the Labour Party (PvdA), Ton Heerts, "advised" the Volkskrant on how to report on the story.


2006 Dutch general election, Background, Voting tools
Several organisations launched a voting tool which helped voters to decide between the multitude of parties. The Institute for Public and Politics (IPP), a government agency, had the "Stemwijzer" (the "Voting-pointer"). The Stemwijzer consisted out of thirty propositions like "Citizens should elect the Prime Minister." and voters could show their support for these propositions by clicking either "agree", "don't agree" or "don't know". The Stemwijzer than showed to which extent the voters agreed with each party, showing them from most to least similarity in answers, advising the voter to vote for the party which agreed with them most. The Stemwijzer had also been made for General, European, Provincial and Municipal elections since 1989.


2006 Dutch general election, Background, Voting tools
Kieskompas (Electoral Compass) was launched by the newspaper Trouw in cooperation with the VU University Amsterdam in order to compete with the Stemwijzer. This system was supposed to give considerably more information. Here voters could show their support for thirty six propositions on a five-point scale. Next they show whether they thought the current cabinet had performed well. Finally Kieskompas showed users their attitude towards party leaders as competent and trustworthy. The voters were shown a two-axis system (similar to a Nolan Chart) and their own position as well as the position of each party in this chart. It stated which party was the closest to them and which party the farthest. It also gave them the possibility to see which coalition best matched their political preferences.


2006 Dutch general election, Background, Voting tools
Other voting tools where the "Wie Kies Jij?" (the "Who do You Vote for") of the IPP which helped find the perfect candidate by his/her age, sex, dietary habits and political experience and the Stomwijzer (the "Stupid Pointer") which mocked the StemWijzer, but still gave reasonable voting advice


2006 Dutch general election, Background, De Stemming 2006
Comedian Freek de Jonge performed an 'election show' ('verkiezingsconference') on public television on the night before the elections. It was called "De Stemming 2006" (an ambiguous name which means both "The Vote 2006" and "The Mood 2006")   In his ironic comedy show, which was totally focused on the elections, he ridiculed the candidates, making such a show a uniquely Dutch phenomenon. When asked whether this show would influence the upcoming elections de Jonge stated he would make a fool out of everyone, not favoring a single person. This was the second time he did such a show. The first one was in 2003, when it was the thirty-third best watched TV-programme in the Netherlands that year. This year, the show was watched by 2,016,000 viewers.


2006 Dutch general election, Campaign
The main issue at stake during the elections was the economic performance of the centre-right Second Balkenende cabinet – which consisted of the Christian-democratic CDA, the conservative liberal VVD and the progressive liberal D66 – as well as the composition of the new government and the future of the Dutch economy. Other issues were integration and the environment.


2006 Dutch general election, Campaign, Power question
The most important question of the elections was which party would become the largest, the governing Christian-democratic CDA or the main opposition party, the social-democratic PvdA. This was similar to the situation of the elections of 2003. The largest party will have the initiative in the cabinet formation talks. Furthermore, if it becomes part of the cabinet, the largest party supplies the prime minister. The media have framed the elections as a 'Clash of the Titans' between prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende (CDA) and candidate prime minister Wouter Bos (PvdA).


2006 Dutch general election, Campaign, Power question
Both parties had consciously kept their options open and expressed a preference for the composition of a new cabinet. The other parties did express clear preferences: the VVD wanted to continue to govern with the CDA, while the Socialist Party and the GreenLeft (GL) wanted to form a leftist coalition, the so-called Left-wing Spring. Broadly speaking, it appeared that there were three options: a continuation of the third Balkendende cabinet with CDA and VVD, a left-wing coalition of PvdA, SP and GL or a centre-left coalition of PvdA and CDA.


2006 Dutch general election, Campaign, Power question
In 2004 and 2005, the polls indeed indicated that the united left could gain a majority in the House of Representatives. The polls predicted two head-to-head races. One between the PvdA and ruling CDA and another between the left-wing bloc (PvdA, SP, GreenLeft) and the right-wing bloc (CDA, VVD) with neither gaining a majority. Early November polls however showed that the CDA was gaining on and surpassing the PvdA. Mid-November polls indicated that the PvdA was bleeding votes to the SP while the CDA remained more or less stable. The left- and right-wing blocks remained in an equilibrium with neither side gaining enough votes for an overall majority. Small centrist parties such as the ChristianUnion could play a decisive role.


2006 Dutch general election, Campaign, Social-economic issues
The debates were dominated by social-economic questions and especially the performance of the Balkenende cabinets.


2006 Dutch general election, Campaign, Social-economic issues
In the last four years the three Balkenende cabinets had implemented an ambitious program of social-economic reforms, including tax cuts, reforms to the social welfare system and investments in education. Their aim was to jump start the Dutch economy. Initially there was great public dissatisfaction with this policy, with large demonstrations in 2003, 2004 and 2005 by the main labour union FNV and the three main opposition parties.


2006 Dutch general election, Campaign, Social-economic issues
They criticised the government for taking these measures at the wrong point in time, during a recession, and they claimed that the government made the poor and socially weaker pay for the economic recovery. A major focus of this debate was on the fact that more than 10% of the people were said to live in poverty, as exemplified by the rising number of 'voedselbanken' (give-away shops for food). As the economy began to perform better in 2006 the public dissatisfaction decreased.


2006 Dutch general election, Campaign, Social-economic issues
There were roughly three positions on the future of the Dutch economy. The CDA claimed that the reforms were finished and that the following cabinet would not have to take any serious measures. The VVD wanted to continue reforming to increase the performance of the Dutch economy. They wanted to continue to cut taxes and reduce bureaucracy. The opposition parties PvdA, SP, GL, joined by the ChristianUnion wanted to revert some of the measures and pay more attention to the public sector, especially to the health care-sector and the poor.


2006 Dutch general election, Campaign, Social-economic issues
The PvdA and the GreenLeft however also announced that they wanted to reform part of the economy and welfare system. For instance several months before the elections, Wouter Bos, the leader of Labour Party, announced that he wanted to tax the elderly pension in such a way that rich elderly would pay more taxes on their pensions than poor elderly. The Dutch pension system consists of government supplied (AOW) and mandatory self-saved pensions. It is the latter portion Bos wanted to tax progressively. The proposal led to considerable controversy, both outside and within Bos' own party.


2006 Dutch general election, Campaign, Social-economic issues
Former minister and de Volkskrant columnist Marcel van Dam wrote a critical column on 22 June concerning Bos' proposal. The second man of the Christian Democratic Appeal Maxime Verhagen used soundbites from the proposal continually to emphasise that the PvdA was an unreliable partner for the elderly. Bos later moderated his plans: only new cases would pay taxes over their pension.


2006 Dutch general election, Campaign, Immigration and integration
Immigration and integration, which had dominated the 2002 and 2003 elections, were clearly less important during these elections.


2006 Dutch general election, Campaign, Immigration and integration
The focus was on the policy of Rita Verdonk, minister of immigration and integration, who had reduced the influx of immigrants and implemented mandatory integration courses for migrants. Verdonk's attitudes toward immigrants were again in the spotlight after her treatment of the crisis around the naturalisation of Dutch MP Ayaan Hirsi Ali caused the cabinet to fall.


2006 Dutch general election, Campaign, Immigration and integration
In the debates one issue was especially important: the treatment of 26,000 asylum seekers which had been in legal procedures for over five years. The left-wing opposition parties PvdA, SP, GL and CU, joined by former coalition-partner D66 wanted a general pardon for this group, granting them all a residence permit. The CDA, VVD and the smaller right-wing parties of Geert Wilders and Marco Pastors opposed such a permit because it would attract illegal immigrants. Minister Verdonk claimed that she had actually already taken care of these 26,000 asylum seekers, sending many back to their own country and granting many a residence permit.


2006 Dutch general election, Campaign, Immigration and integration
A minor issue was the ban on burqas and other face-covering clothing in public which minister Verdonk announced on 17 November 2006. The opposition Labour Party, called the law an "election ploy", and a Muslim leader described it as "a big law for a small problem."


2006 Dutch general election, Campaign, Immigration and integration
Several right-wing parties, such as One NL and Party for Freedom, had campaigned extensively on the issue of immigration and integration. Wilders of the Party for Freedom wanted a halt of immigration from non-Western countries, abolish double citizenship, and stop the building of new mosques. Wilders said that the "Islamisation of the Netherlands" is a "tsunami" that needed to be stopped, "because it threatens our culture."


2006 Dutch general election, Campaign, The environment
The environment finally also became a secondary issue during the elections.


2006 Dutch general election, Campaign, The environment
The first attention to environmental issues was attracted by Greenpeace who interfered in the CDA party congress on 30 September 2006. During a speech of parliamentary chairman Maxime Verhagen, activists of Greenpeace rolled down a large sign saying "CDA chooses for 240,000 years of nuclear waste," referring to the news a day earlier that the CDA junior minister of the environment Pieter van Geel is open to new possibilities for nuclear energy in the Netherlands. Four activists were apprehended by the police afterwards.


2006 Dutch general election, Campaign, The environment
Other important events increasing the attention on environmental issues were the Stern report of the United Kingdom government and the visit of Al Gore to Amsterdam promoting his movie An Inconvenient Truth.


2006 Dutch general election, Campaign, The environment
The GreenLeft focused on this issue during its campaigns and sponsored ads which read: "Who votes strategically when the polar caps are melting?" The Party for the Animals had campaigned on one issue closely related to environmental problems: the position of animals in Dutch society and especially in agriculture.


2006 Dutch general election, Voting issues, Voting machine controversy
A report by action group Wij vertrouwen stemcomputers niet (We don't trust voting computers) detailed serious security flaws in the Nedap voting machines used by 90% of the voters in the election. The report alleged it was easy to open the voting machine casing. The inner casing around the electronics was only protected by a very simple lock. Thus replacements of software and even hardware were relatively easily possible (by a simple memory chip swap, meaning that the memory that holds the voting data is not encrypted). Another machine is made by SDU and called "NewVote". It is based on a PC and uses a touchscreen instead of buttons. Only ten small districts still use paper and pencil.


2006 Dutch general election, Voting issues, Voting machine controversy
Wij vertrouwen stemcomputers niet has threatened to bring minister Atzo Nicolaï to court since they are not convinced by his assurances that there will be no fraud in the upcoming election. In response to the allegations, Nicolaï introduced new security measures for the voting machines. Currently Nedap is checking all its machines for tampering, is installing new chips and software that is less easily hacked, and seals the machines with a unique metal seal.


2006 Dutch general election, Voting issues, Voting machine controversy
Based on inspections, on 30 October the government decided that there was a problem with SDU voting machines because within a radius of 10 metres the machines could be wirelessly monitored, so that these machines could not guarantee anonymity of voting to a sufficient degree. These machines, which are in use in 35 municipalities, including Amsterdam, have to be improved or replaced with an alternative before the elections. Many municipalities, including Amsterdam, decided to switch to the traditional paper and red pencil method of voting instead of the SDU machines. Machines made by Nedap are still in use.


2006 Dutch general election, Voting issues, Experiments
"Stemmen in een Willekeurig Stemlokaal" (SWS) ('voting in a random polling-booth') Because a lot of people could not vote because of problems caused by this experiment a group of citizens started procedures to nullify the results in all 311 area's where the experiment was conducted.


2006 Dutch general election, Voting issues, Experiments
Another experiment is "Kiezen Op Afstand" (KOA) ('remote voting'), also called the experiment with internetstemmen (internet voting).


2006 Dutch general election, Voting issues, Experiments
In an experiment in Breukelen, a voting machine was placed in a petrol station. However, non-Breukelen citizens had to convert their 'voting pass' ('stempas') to an 'elector's pass' ('kiezerspas').


2006 Dutch general election, Public debates
More than during previous elections, there was a strong focus on the leaders, especially Bos of PvdA and Balkenende of CDA, regarding who of the two might become prime minister. This irritated not only other parties but also analysts who complained that elections should be about issues and parties, not about who becomes prime minister.


2006 Dutch general election, Public debates, Radio debate
The first public election debate between the leaders of the seven largest parties was held on 29 October 2006, on public radio. Mark Rutte, whose VVD is junior partner in the third Balkenende cabinet of CDA prime-minister Jan Peter Balkenende, was worried that the CDA will choose for a coalition with the PvdA after the elections, as this, at the time of the debate, was the only two-party coalition possible according to polls. Balkenende, however, kept his options open, and did not rule out a coalition with the PvdA. The PvdA's Wouter Bos stated that he will not become a deputy prime-minister in case Balkenende leads a CDA-PvdA coalition. He will then remain as chairman of the parliamentary party.


2006 Dutch general election, Public debates, RTL 4 debate
This debate took place on 3 November 2006 and was televised by RTL4. Participants were Jan Peter Balkenende and Wouter Bos. Balkenende focused on his achievements the last four years, stating "We are much better off than four years ago. We were behind in Europe and now we're ahead but our work is not yet done." Bos felt that under Balkenende the gap between rich and poor had grown, stating "What have you asked of the wealthiest? Everybody has been asked to dig into their pockets to contribute to the economy." In an opinion poll conducted by TNS-Nipo following the televised debate, 50 percent of respondents thought Wouter Bos won the debate, against 46 percent for Jan Peter Balkenende.


2006 Dutch general election, Public debates, NOS Jeugdjournaal debate
This debate was broadcast on 11 November 2006 and was televised by the Jeugdjournaal (YouthNews) of  the NOS. The debate was aimed at children from 8 to 14 years of age. Participants were top-candidates from the four parties leading the polls: Jan Peter Balkenende (CDA), Wouter Bos (PvdA), Mark Rutte (VVD) and Jan Marijnissen (SP). A poll among the young watchers after the debate showed that the Dutch children preferred Wouter Bos as the next prime minister (46%), before Marijnissen (26%), Balkenende (22%) and Mark Rutte (6%).


2006 Dutch general election, Public debates, EenVandaag debate
This debate took place on 15 November 2006 and was organised by EenVandaag. Participants were Jan-Peter Balkenende, Wouter Bos, Mark Rutte, Jan Marijnissen, Femke Halsema and André Rouvoet. According to an opinion poll following the debate, Jan Marijnissen won the debate.


2006 Dutch general election, Opinion polls
In the Netherlands there are three agencies that conduct frequent polls throughout the year (usually weekly). There is usually a small difference which may be due to different sampling and surveying methods applied. From 1 November the 'Politieke Barometer' started with two polls each week, and from 13 November they increased the frequency to daily polls.


2006 Dutch general election, Opinion polls
The last polls prior to the election of the Politieke Barometer, the poll by NOVA and Interview-NSS, the TNS-NIPO polls by RTL4, and the poll by Maurice de Honds' peil.nl yield the following results:


2006 Dutch general election, Opinion polls
The day before the elections, about one third of the electorate had not yet made up their minds, resulting in polls giving strongly varying results. For this reason campaigning continued on election day itself.


2006 Dutch general election, Opinion polls
An aspect of this was tactical voting, with SP telling PvdA voters that a strong SP would force PvdA to form a left-wing coalition, VVD saying something similar to CDA voters concerning a right-wing coalition, PvdA and CDA saying they need to be strong to prevent the other party from forming or dominating a coalition and ChristenUnie saying it has the best cards to participate in any coalition.


2006 Dutch general election, Opinion polls
Shortly before the elections, PvdA leader Bos showed himself more interested in the much talked about left-wing coalition of PvdA, SP and GroenLinks (possibly with ChristenUnie), which he had refused to talk about for months. Many suspected he changed his mind to stop the exodus of PvdA voters to SP. During the municipal elections earlier that year PvdA grew strong and after that they even grew to 60 seats in the polls, but after March a gradual decline had set in, almost halving the size of PvdA in the polls.


2006 Dutch general election, Results
In order to increase their changes of obtaining the remainder seats, two combined lists were formed – one by the Socialist Party and the GreenLeft (which gained one remainder seat) and one by ChristianUnion and the SGP. Other remainder seats were allocated to the CDA (2), the PvdA (2), D66 (1) and the PVV (1).


2006 Dutch general election, Results
The number two candidate on the VVD list, Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk received more preference votes (620,555) than list leader Mark Rutte (553,200). This was attributed to her greater national profile. The number six candidate on the D66 list, Fatma Koşer Kaya received the second highest number preferences (34,564), second only to list leader Alexander Pechtold (95,937).


2006 Dutch general election, Results
This was a result of the CDA and PvdA removing candidates of Turkish origin from their lists because of their position on the Armenian genocide, which led to the Turks Forum advised voters of Turkish origin to vote for Koşer Kaya, who is of Turkish origin, although her position on the genocide was ambiguous. Any individual candidate reaching the quota (16,397 votes in this election) is elected, resulting in Koşer Kaya being elected and taking one of the three seats won by D66.


2006 Dutch general election, Reactions
In the final debate between the leaders of the major parties (CDA, PvdA, SP, VVD, PVV, GL and CU) it was pointed out that the seated government lost 9 seats and the left wing parties (PvdA, SP, GL, PvdD) won 8 seats, which was interpreted as a signal from the voters that government policy should be more social. On the right, the PVV gained 9 seats, but other parties are silent about a possible coalition with the PVV.


2006 Dutch general election, Reactions
In the debate between party leaders – after the election was over – the question was raised if any of the leaders would want a coalition with the PVV. All kept quiet. When Wilders called this a "cordon sanitaire," VVD leader Rutte responded fiercely, saying that "there is no cordon sanitaire." Rutte believes the PVV is a "one-issue party," but also pointed out that he did not exclude the PVV as coalition partner.


2006 Dutch general election, Reactions
When asked about the possibility of a CDA-PvdA-CU coalition, PvdA leader Bos responded that during the campaign the differences between CDA and PvdA have turned out to be rather big and that the big winner SP also deserves a place at the negotiating table. SP leader Marijnissen responded to this that the SP had never excluded CDA as a coalition partner, but that the CDA of the previous cabinet is not one with which the SP can enter a coalition.


2006 Dutch general election, Reactions
That, combined with the program of the CDA and the list of CDA MPs would constitute many 'road bumps' and 'bears on the road', and said he did not really want to start a coalition with this CDA program and this CDA MP list. Prime minister Balkenende responded that the CDA he wanted does not exist and that he has to enter talks with the CDA as it is now.


2006 Dutch general election, Aftermath
Since no party held an absolute majority in the House of Representatives, the formation of a coalition government, consisting of parties who together have enough seats to propose laws that can count on a majority in the House of Representatives was necessary. This is most commonly achieved by building a coalition that has a majority; although a minority cabinet that arranges ad hoc majorities for its proposals is possible. With the 2006 results a majority coalition required at least three parties.


2006 Dutch general election, Aftermath
Initially, negotiations for a cabinet of CDA, PvdA and SP were started, but the parties seemed unwilling to form this cabinet. Later on, negotiations for a CDA-PvdA-ChristenUnie cabinet were started. This resulted in the formation of the Fourth cabinet Balkenende. It was installed by Queen Beatrix on 22 February 2007. In the meantime the Balkenende III cabinet continued as a caretaker cabinet, which is not supposed to make new policy.


2006 Dutch municipal elections
The Dutch municipal elections of 2006 were held on March 7, 2006. About 11.8 million people could vote in 419 municipalities. Due to local redistricting, 15 municipalities have already held elections in January 2006 and 24 municipalities will hold elections in November 2006. In some cities, such as Amsterdam, there were two elections, for the municipality and for the 'stadsdeelraden' (borough councils).


2006 Dutch municipal elections, Results
Official results were announced on March 9, 2006 (). PvdA (Labour Party) obtained the most votes and seats, more than making good the losses of the 2002 elections. The Socialistische Partij almost doubled in size, partly due to its participation in more municipalities than in 2002. CDA, VVD and D66 all had noticeable losses, which may in part be caused by dissatisfaction with the current national government, of which they are the coalition partners. Overall, local parties of the Leefbaar type lost out as well after some success during the previous elections.


2006 Dutch municipal elections, Results
The following results are as yet incomplete because 24 of the 443 municipalities will have the elections in November (due to redistricting). In the 419 municipalities of the March elections the 8861 seats were filled as follows


2006 Dutch municipal elections, Results
Although the above shows the total results for the whole of the Netherlands, this has no official effect on national politics. It is often seen as an indication for it, but the issues and the parties that participate at the two levels don't always coincide. For example, SP got almost twice as many seats because they participated in almost twice as many municipalities as it did in 2002, which will in part explain their success, but even so, they still didn't participate in all municipalities, so not everyone could vote for them.


2006 Dutch municipal elections, Results
However, since this comparison is often made, a larger scale poll was held, showing that the government parties would have lost 17 seats in parliament if national elections would have been held on that day (with CDA losing 13 seats) and the left wing parties would have each won seats; PvdA +7, SP +8 and GreenLeft +2. This is fairly similar to the election results and a confirmation of polls showing a possible majority (and thus coalition) for the three left-wing parties, which would be a first in the Netherlands and may be a reaction to what they call the present 'right-wing winter'.


2006 Dutch municipal elections, Results
The 'forgotten winner' (who received little media attention) was ChristenUnie (CU), who were allied with SGP in many municipalities, but represented the winning part with 420 seats (SGP has always had a very steady following). Leader André Rouvoet now says that this alliance might no longer be a good idea because precisely there where SGP refused an alliance because CU had a woman in their list was where CU grew. SGP's attitude towards women brushes off badly on CU. In keeping with their left-wing Christian nature, ChristenUnie was most successful in a band across the Netherlands that starts in the south west and largely coincides with the Dutch Bible belt, but ends in the heavily socialist north east.


2006 Dutch municipal elections, Results
As D66 focussed on local issues in their campaigns but suffered further losses, a common occurrence when the party participates in government. In 2005, D66 minister Alexander Pechtold had proposed moving the elections in some municipalities to different years in order to reduce the influence of national politics, but this was opposed by the CDA.


2006 Dutch municipal elections, Results
Media attention before election day was manifested around Rotterdam, where the late Pim Fortuyn's Leefbaar Rotterdam was a surprise winner in 2002, knocking PvdA out of the coalition for the first time since WWII. But now, PvdA even gained more seats than they had before 2002, and became the largest party once again. Leefbaar Rotterdam came second and has already made clear it is not willing to enter a coalition with the Labour party, making the formation of a coalition difficult because all other parties are small (less than 10% of the votes).


2006 Dutch municipal elections, Results
In these 419 municipalities, percentages of over 30% were reached almost only by PvdA (in 64 municipalities, mostly in the northern provinces, especially Groningen and Friesland) and CDA (59 times, mostly in southern provinces). Percentages over 40% were reached in 29 municipalities, again almost exclusively by PvdA (12) and CDA (10). Absolute majorities (over 50%), which would not require a coalition, are a rarity in a parliamentary democracy with proportional representation and occurred only twice. PvdA won an absolute majority in Winschoten, Groningen province with 49.7% of the votes and 9 out of 17 seats in the council, and CDA in Tubbergen, Overijssel province with 58.3% of the vote and 12 out of 19 seats in the council.


2006 Dutch municipal elections, Results
Half the people have voted for the person at the top of the list. One third have voted for someone they met personally. The enormous rise of SP in some municipalities presented several candidates with a problem because they have to take a seat in the council but can't combine it with their 'normal' jobs.


2006 Dutch municipal elections, Campaign
Polls showed a major shift in the issues. In 2006, people mentioned employment, poverty, traffic, housing and education, largely the issues that left wing parties focused on. The issues of immigrant integration and safety, which were so important in 2002 and led to the success of the Leefbaar parties, played a minor role this time. In Nijmegen, with its all-left coalition, people's sense of safety has risen from 21% to 52% since that coalition came to power, illustrating that this is not just a right wing issue. The biggest shift among lower incomes was from the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) to the Socialist Party (SP), probably caused by the first two issues.


2006 Dutch municipal elections, Campaign
A major issue in the campaign of the right wing VVD was to advise people not to vote for the social-democratic PvdA. This was done in such a manner that PvdA leader Wouter Bos declared the VVD had been the best campaigner for the PvdA. He said about the VVD leader that "every time van Aartsen opens his mouth, we gain another seat".


2006 Dutch municipal elections, Voter turnout
Voter turnout across the Netherlands was around 58%, slightly more than in the 2002 municipal elections. Delfzijl was said to have the lowest turnout of the whole country, with 47.3% but this was due to 22% of the cast Delfzijl votes being blank, as a form of protest against the political mismanagement that entangled the city last year. The Delfzijl turnout with the blank votes included was 61.1%. The real lowest turnouts were in the major cities Eindhoven and The Hague, each with 47.5%. The highest turnouts are traditionally in smaller communities and especially at the Wadden islands in the North. The highest turnout this year was at Ameland with 87.3%.


2006 Dutch municipal elections, Voter turnout
People of foreign origin (known in the Netherlands as allochtonen) constitute about 2.2 million of the constituency of 11.2 million. Most are of German origin (320.000) and about half of non-western origin, most notably from Surinam (225.000) and Turkey (220.000). Voter turnout among allochtones was higher than previously and many have voted PvdA.


2006 Dutch municipal elections, Aftermath
VVD parliamentary group leader Jozias van Aartsen announced that since his party lost votes, while he had had high hopes to gain some (overall outcome for the VVD was less than 14% this time), he will retire from the leadership. He will remain in the House of Representatives. Former party leader Hans Wiegel, who had hinted at returning to lead the party in the next general election announced he would not seek a return to politics. A likely candidate to succeed van Aartsen as political leader is Mark Rutte, the current staatssecretaris for higher education and science. He is seen as a representative for the more left-wing ('social liberal') side of VDD (although he himself denies this), illustrated by the fact that he does not wear a necktie, which, he says, illustrates that the VVD is for all people, not just an elite group.


2006 Dutch municipal elections, Aftermath
For CDA an important part of the campaign was that regional and national politics are two separate things. For this reason, premier Balkenende did not participate (much) in the campaign and declared after the elections that the CDA would not change its national policy.


2006 Dutch municipal elections, Aftermath
D66 fractievoorzitter Lousewies van der Laan remarked that this was the tenth election in a row (over 12 years) that D66 lost seats and that this time they would not seek the cause in external factors but within the party itself. People no longer know what D66 stands for. An example was the wavering stance of D66 on the Afghanistan mission debates in December and January, first opposing it and then going along with it.


2006 Dutch municipal elections, Coalitions
There used to be a time limit to the duration of coalition talks, but that has been dropped, so the formations may take a long time.


2006 Dutch municipal elections, Coalitions
The combination of the three left wing parties PvdA, GroenLinks and SP that already formed a coalition in Nijmegen (which was consequently nicknamed Havana on the Waal) has gained a majority in at least 39 municipalities, mostly in the Northeast and the Randstad, including 7 of the 12 largest municipalities and 20 of the 60 municipalities with an electorate over 50.000, including Maastricht and Heerlen, the two biggest cities in CDA stronghold province Limburg.


2006 Dutch municipal elections, Coalitions
However, although this combination is close to 50% of the seats in many municipalities where all three participated, a majority is in most cases only just not possible or too narrow to be comfortable. The biggest majority was in the small Groningen municipality of Pekela (11 out of 15 seats), but also in major cities like Amsterdam (33 out of 45), Nijmegen (24 out of 39), Utrecht (27 out of 45), Groningen (24 out of 39), Haarlem (22 out of 39) and Arnhem (23 out of 39) there are large majorities for PvdA, SP and GroenLinks.


2006 Dutch municipal elections, Coalitions
In Reiderland a non-left-wing council is not even possible. It is noteworthy that in Arnhem, that was often juxtaposed to nearby Nijmegen, such a coalition has now also become possible, although the existing very broad coalition hasn't lost its majority. Another factor here is that the local branches confer with the national party because decisions at the two levels have to be harmonised. Nationally, PvdA is doing well, but in some municipalities too left wing a coalition may not go down well with some people, which may have negative effects on PvdA during the 2007 national elections.


2006 Dutch municipal elections, Coalitions
Also, local branches of a party may have a rather different signature from the local party, such as in Zaanstad, where the CDA is rather left wing. "They're called CDA,but that's where the similarity ends", according to a PvdA spokesman. And SP also differs strongly from place to place. In some places they are considered decent politicians, in others too troublesome (SP used to lean towards Marxism and that may not have disappeared everywhere). The subjects of housing and city renovation are often points of difference between PvdA and SP.


2006 Dutch municipal elections, Coalitions
In Amsterdam, where this coalition would be biggest, SP have already left the talks, but PvdA and GroenLinks still have a majority of 27 out of 45 seats. In Arnhem the three parties are talking but there are differences between PvdA and SP over how money should be spent (housing or redistribution).


2006 Dutch municipal elections, Coalitions
ChristenUnie turned out to be very popular as a coalition partner, partly because their stance on social issues often coincides with that of the big winner PvdA, who led the coalition talks in most municipalities. Where socialist PvdA and Christian CDA form a coalition, they often take ChristenUnie on board even when there is no need for a majority because, being both left-wing and Christian, they form a bridge between those two parties. On 4 April CU had already entered a coalition in 21 new municipalities, whilst keeping its position in municipalities where they already were part of a coalition. They had won 12% more seats but their coalition-participation had risen by 69%.


2006 Dutch municipal elections, Coalitions
In Goes, the Christian parties CDA and SGP/CU formed a coalition with VVD on the day after the elections ("at record breaking speed"), without consulting the PvdA. This led to quite an uproar because it is customary that coalition talks are started by the biggest party, which was the PvdA. But what was really salient was that this was done on a Christian day of prayer for which the elections were shifted forward one day (elections are usually on Wednesdays) at the request of SGP, one of those new coalition partners. During inauguration hundreds gathered in front of the city hall, throwing eggs. The new opposition demonstratively left the city hall after the inauguration and a VVD member almost attacked a protester.


2006 Dutch/Australian Offensive
The 2006 Dutch-Australian offensive was a military operation carried out in Afghanistan by a combined force of Dutch and Australian troops that commenced in late April 2006 and concluded on 16 July 2006. The force entered the Taliban-controlled Chora District and Balochistan region, both of which are located north-east of the provincial capital, Tarin Kowt. The offensive's goal was to protect Tarin Kowt, the site of a soon-to-be base, from a potential Taliban attack.


2006 Dutch/Australian Offensive, Battle, Surk Murgab
The first action of the offensive occurred in late April, when Lieutenant Marco Kroon led a platoon consisting of twenty-nine Dutch Commando Corps (KCT) soldiers from "Task Force Viper", alongside twenty-nine Australian Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) soldiers, into the village of Surk Murgab (15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from Tarin Kowt). With the objective to ascertain the presence of an enemy force, the coalition troops entered the village. Upon their arrival they encountered intense fire. Threatened with being pinned down by the weight of the fire and unable to move, the contingent was forced to call in air support to enable them to break contact and withdraw.


2006 Dutch/Australian Offensive, Battle, Surk Murgab
A second attempt to secure the village was initiated four days later and, again, heavy fire forced the coalition force to withdraw. An Australian vehicle was unable to leave (the exact cause is unclear) and was a target for the Taliban. Using an armed diversion, the Dutch managed to distract the insurgents long enough to allow the Australians to repair their vehicle and pull back.


2006 Dutch/Australian Offensive, Battle, Chora Valley
The Dutch-Australian offensive moved north into the Chora Valley a month later. While moving through an open area devoid of cover, the joint force came under attack by the Taliban, who fired at them with mortars, RPGs and 107-millimetre rockets. At a tactical disadvantage, Kroon decided to call a halt to the advance, but the Australians, having suffered a casualty, were unable to break contact immediately and the Dutch troops were forced to move forward again to help them.


2006 Dutch/Australian Offensive, Battle, Chora Valley
Acting once again as a decoy force, the Dutch drew the attention of the Taliban while the Australians evacuated their wounded soldier. In response, the Taliban focused their fire more intensely upon the Dutch. The fire was of such weight that the Australians later claimed that at the time "they had not thought Kroon's platoon would make it".


2006 Dutch/Australian Offensive, Battle, Chora Valley
The Dutch force were nevertheless able to make good their withdrawal and two weeks later the coalition troops re-entered the Chora Valley. As per their previous attempt, the Taliban reacted strongly and  the Australian SAS members were soon placed under intense fire. Kroon sought to aid the Australian contingent, but the vehicle he was traveling in rolled over due to the rough terrain; the crew inside the upturned vehicle only narrowly escaped the mortars and shells that subsequently exploded in close proximity as the Taliban targeted their stricken vehicle.


2006 Dutch/Australian Offensive, Battle, Chora Valley
As the Australians and Dutch attempted to interrupt a Taliban supply route, they were attacked again at short range in country that provided good cover for ambushes. Attempting to extricate his men from the trap, Kroon led them in a dangerous passage of lines manoeuvre that took them through the Australian positions, where the SAS troopers were returning fire. Moving back to higher ground, one of the Dutch vehicles was hit by an RPG, but it was able to continue on. The coalition force then established itself in a defensive position in preparation for further attacks; these came throughout the course of eight hours as, amidst 50 degree Celsius heat, they fought off the Taliban. By the end of the fighting a total of 13 Taliban soldiers had been killed.


2006 Dutch/Australian Offensive, Battle, Operation Perth and Operation Chitag
In mid-July, the Australians launched Operation Perth in an effort to remove the Taliban presence from the Chora Valley. As a part of this offensive, the Dutch were again involved, launching their own operation known as Operation Chitag. The operations occurred as part of a multi-national coalition operation to clear the Chora Valley, 40 kilometres (25 mi) north-east of Tarin Kowt, involving more than 500 troops from six nations. Units involved included elements of the 4th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment and the Special Air Service Regiment and the Netherlands Korps Commandotroepen.


2006 Dutch/Australian Offensive, Battle, Operation Perth and Operation Chitag
Heavy fighting with Taliban insurgents resulted, and during the intense combat the Australians fought their way through the valley, clearing it in a series of synchronised and closely coordinated operations. Despite meeting stiff resistance from several hundred insurgents, the operation was ultimately successful with the Taliban sustaining heavy casualties and eventually fleeing the valley.


2006 Dutch/Australian Offensive, Battle, Operation Perth and Operation Chitag
On the night of 12/13 July, a combined Dutch and Australian force, became surrounded by a larger Taliban force during an engagement north-east of Tarin Kowt. Running low on ammunition, their situation became desperate and air support from a US Air Force AC-130 gunship was called in. Armed with a "105-millimetre howitzer, 40-millimetre cannon and Gatling guns", the aircraft could deliver intense indirect fire support that could regain the initiative for the coalition troops and push the Taliban back from their position.


2006 Dutch/Australian Offensive, Battle, Operation Perth and Operation Chitag
By the time the gunship arrived over battle, the Taliban had advanced to within 30 metres (98 ft) of the coalition position. Despite the risk of collateral damage, Kroon proceeded to call down the gunship's fire. The incident was later described in an official Dutch report. "The air around the two platoons was thick with shrapnel but the 40-millimetre and 105-millimetre shells launched by the aircraft had a devastating effect on the Taliban".


2006 Dutch/Australian Offensive, Battle, Operation Perth and Operation Chitag
Following the fighting, the Dutch and Australian units were able to continue their advance over the next four days, before the operation was successfully concluded. One Dutch soldier was killed during the offensive and at least 13 coalition soldiers were wounded, including six Australians.


2006 Dutch/Australian Offensive, Aftermath
The joint offensive in the Chora and Baluchi areas was deemed a great success by the Dutch. Despite initial set backs, the "pass entering the valley was opened" and the coalition forces were eventually able to gain freedom of movement throughout the area. Casualties on the coalition side were light, with only one coalition soldier being killed and another being wounded; Taliban casualties were estimated by an official Dutch report as being "up to 300 killed". For his actions during the offensive, Kroon was later awarded the Military Order of William, the Netherlands' highest military decoration.


2006 Dwars door Vlaanderen
The 2006 Dwars door Vlaanderen was the 61st edition of the Dwars door Vlaanderen cycle race and was held on 22 March 2006. The race started in Kortrijk and finished in Waregem. The race was won by Frederik Veuchelen.


2006 E3 Prijs Vlaanderen
The 2006 E3 Prijs Vlaanderen was the 49th edition of the E3 Harelbeke cycle race and was held on 25 March 2006. The race started and finished in Harelbeke. The race was won by Tom Boonen of the Quick-Step team.


2006 ECAC Hockey Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
The 2006 ECAC Hockey Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 45th tournament in conference history. It was played between March 3 and March 18, 2006. Opening round and quarterfinal games were played at home team campus sites, while the final four games were played at the Pepsi Arena (subsequently renamed Times Union Center) in Albany, New York. By winning the tournament, Harvard received the ECAC's automatic bid to the 2006 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.


2006 ECAC Hockey Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Conference Standings
Note: GP = Games Played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; PTS = Points; GF = Goals For; GA = Goals Against


2006 ECM Prague Open
The 2006 ECM Prague Open was a professional tennis tournament played on clay courts at the I. Czech Lawn Tennis Club in Prague, Czech Republic from 8 to 14 May 2006. It was the 11th edition of the men's tournament which was part of the 2006 ATP Challenger Series and the 10th edition of the women's tournament which was part of the 2006 WTA Tour as a Tier IV tournament.


2006 ECM Prague Open, Points and prize money
Note: this information was only available for the women's tournament


2006 ECM Prague Open, Men's Singles entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2006 ECM Prague Open, Men's Doubles entrants, Other entrants
The following pairs received wildcards into the doubles main draw:


2006 ECM Prague Open, Women's Singles entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2006 ECM Prague Open, Women's Doubles entrants, Other entrants
The following pair received a wildcard into the doubles main draw:


2006 ECM Prague Open, Finals, Women's Singles
It was the 2nd singles title for Pe'er in the season and her career.


2006 ECM Prague Open, Finals, Women's Doubles
It was the 3rd title for Bartoli and the 1st title for Pe'er in their respective doubles careers.


2006 ECM Prague Open – Men's Doubles
Jordan Kerr and Sebastián Prieto were the defending champions, but Prieto did not compete this year. Kerr teamed up with Ashley Fisher and lost in semifinals to Ramón Delgado and Sergio Roitman.


2006 ECM Prague Open – Men's Doubles
Petr Pála and David Škoch won the title by defeating Ramón Delgado and Sergio Roitman 6–0, 6–0 in the final.


2006 ECM Prague Open – Men's Singles
Jan Hernych was the defending champion, but lost in second round to Tomáš Zíb.


2006 ECM Prague Open – Men's Singles
Robin Vik won the title by defeating Jan Hájek 6–4, 7–6(7–4) in the final.


2006 ECM Prague Open – Women's Doubles
Émilie Loit and Nicole Pratt were the defending champions, but none competed this year, with Loit choosing to focus on the singles tournament.


2006 ECM Prague Open – Women's Doubles
Marion Bartoli and Shahar Pe'er won the title by defeating Ashley Harkleroad and Bethanie Mattek 6–4, 6–4 in the final.


2006 ECM Prague Open – Women's Singles
Dinara Safina was the defending champion, but competed in Berlin at the same week.


2006 ECM Prague Open – Women's Singles
Shahar Pe'er won the title by defeating Samantha Stosur 4–6, 6–2, 6–1 in the final.


2006 ETU Duathlon European Championships
The 2006 ETU Duathlon European Championships were held in Rimini, Italy from October 7 and October 8, 2006.


2006 East Asian Judo Championships
The 2006 East Asian Judo Championships was contested in seven weight classes, seven each for men and women.


2006 East Asian Judo Championships
This competition was held at National Wrestling Hall in Ulan Bator, Mongolia, 2 and 3 September.


2006 East Carolina Pirates football team
The 2006 East Carolina Pirates football team represented East Carolina University in the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season.


2006 East Timorese crisis
The 2006 East Timorese crisis began as a conflict between elements of the military of East Timor over discrimination within the military, and expanded to a coup attempt and general violence throughout the country, centred in the capital Dili. The crisis prompted a military intervention by several other countries and led to the resignation of the Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri.


2006 East Timorese crisis, Background
A pretext for the crisis came from the management of a dispute within the military of East Timor (F-FDTL), when soldiers from the western part of the country claimed that they were being discriminated against, in favour of soldiers from the eastern part of the country. The Lorosae (Tetum for easterners) formed the largest part of Falintil, the guerrilla resistance movement which had resisted Indonesian authority, and which in turn, after final independence in 2002, formed the largest part of F-FDTL. In contrast the Loromonu (Tetum for westerners) were less prominent in the resistance, and less favoured in the military structure. There had also been tension between the military and the police force, which was composed of more westerners and also some former members of the Indonesian military.


2006 East Timorese crisis, Background
404 soldiers, out of the regular strength of about 1500, deserted their barracks on 8 February 2006, joined by 177 more on 25 February. The soldiers were ordered to return in March, but refused, and were relieved of duty. The soldiers were later joined by some members of the police force, and were initially led by Lt. Gastão Salsinha.


2006 East Timorese crisis, Background
The Foreign Minister, José Ramos-Horta, announced early in April that a panel would be established to hear the complaints of the former soldiers, but added that "They are not going to be brought back into the army, except on a case-by-case basis when we establish the responsibilities of each individual in this whole incident".


2006 East Timorese crisis, Background
There were political motivations behind the attacks on soldiers and the government. Those initiating the violence and killings declared loyalty to the then President Xanana Gusmao, who wanted to replace Prime Minister and Fretilin leader Mari Alkatiri.


2006 East Timorese crisis, Violence
On 24 April, the former soldiers and their civilian supporters, mostly unemployed youths, marched through the streets of the capital Dili in protest. The initially peaceful march turned violent when the soldiers attacked a market run by people from the east of the country. The protests continued over the next several days, until on 28 April the former soldiers clashed with FDTL forces, who fired on the crowd. In the resultant violence, five people were killed, more than 100 buildings were destroyed and an estimated 21,000 Dili residents fled the city.


2006 East Timorese crisis, Violence
On 4 May, Major Alfredo Reinado, along with 20 military police from a platoon under his command and four other riot police defected and joined the rebel soldiers, taking with them two trucks full of weapons and ammunition. After joining the soldiers, Reinado made his base in the town of Aileu in the hills south-west of Dili. There he and the military police guarded the road leading into the mountains.


2006 East Timorese crisis, Violence
On the evening of 5 May, the former soldiers under Salsinha's leadership drafted a declaration calling for President Xanana Gusmão to sack the Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri and abolish the FDTL within 48 hours. When Gusmão contacted Salsinha earlier that day in an attempt to prevent the issuing of the declaration, Salsinha told him that it was "too late".


2006 East Timorese crisis, Violence
The rebel soldiers remained in the hills above the capital, where they engaged in sporadic combat with FDTL forces over the next several weeks. Violent gangs also roamed the streets of Dili, burning down houses and torching cars. The civilians who fled Dili camped in tent cities nearby or in churches on the outskirts of the capital. One Catholic convent alone was providing Red Cross assistance to up to 7000 people.


2006 East Timorese crisis, Violence
On 8 May a police officer was killed as a crowd of 1000 surrounded a government complex, the office of a regional state secretary, in a town outside Dili. On 9 May, Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri described the violence since 28 April as a coup, with "the aim of blocking the democratic institutions, preventing them to function in a way that the only solution would be for national parliament to be dissolved by the President... which would provoke the fall of the Government." However on 10 May Alkatiri announced that government officials had held negotiations with the rebel soldiers, in which it was agreed that the rebel soldiers would be paid a subsidy equal to their former military wage to assist their families.


2006 East Timorese crisis, Violence
The United Nations peacekeeping forces left East Timor on 20 May 2005, and the remaining administrative staff and police at the United Nations Office in Timor Leste (UNOTIL) were scheduled to leave on 20 May 2006, but on 11 May their deadline was extended at least until June. The decision came alongside Foreign Minister Ramos-Horta's request to the UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights to investigate allegations of human rights violations by the East Timorese police forces, as alleged by Human Rights Watch and the United States Department of State.


2006 East Timorese crisis, Violence
On 12 May, Prime Minister of Australia John Howard announced that although there had not been any formal requests for assistance from the Government of East Timor, Australian forces were standing by in readiness to provide assistance, with the amphibious transport ships HMAS Kanimbla and HMAS Manoora moving to northern waters in preparation.


2006 East Timorese crisis, Violence
The violence escalated late in May, as one FDTL soldier was killed and five wounded in a skirmish on 23 May. Foreign Minister Ramos-Horta sent out an official request for military assistance on 24 May, to the governments of Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Portugal. On 25 May, as the first international forces were arriving, some renegade soldiers were moving into Dili and engaging in combat with FDTL and police forces, with up to twenty people believed to have been killed.


2006 East Timorese crisis, Intervention
Operation Astute is the name of the international military response to the crisis. Led by the Australian Defence Force, and commanded by Brigadier Michael Slater of the Australian 3rd Brigade, the operation involves forces from four countries.