{{Short description|Type of political party}} {{original research|date=September 2018}} A '''testimonial party''' ({{Langx|nl|beginselpartij/getuigenispartij}}) is a political party that focuses on its principles, instead of adapting them to local or temporal issues in the pursuit of coalition government participation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Getuigenispartij - de betekenis volgens Politiek woordenboek |url=https://www.ensie.nl/politiek/getuigenispartij |access-date=2024-12-31 |website=www.ensie.nl}}</ref> ==In the Netherlands== It is a peculiar phenomenon in the Netherlands, because of the Dutch system of proportional representation, in which any party that has over 0.66% of the vote can enter the House of Representatives. A typical House of Representatives has 10 or more factions represented. With such a large number of parties, it is all but impossible for one party to win the 76 seats needed for a majority in its own right.

As a result, most Dutch political parties will negotiate and compromise to form a coalition government. Testimonial parties will not compromise; this, combined with the fact that they are usually small parties, makes their participation in a coalition government extremely unlikely. Examples of parties that have referred to themselves as "testimonial" include the orthodox Protestant Reformed Political Party (SGP) and the animal rights-advocating Party for the Animals. In contrast, the term 'program party' is used for parties oriented toward participation in coalitions.

==In other countries== *The Christian Heritage Party of New Zealand and the Christian Heritage Party of Canada, many members of which had Dutch ancestry, may have been a version of a 'testimonial party' effectively exported to a foreign context. *The Communist Party of Greece refuses to join any coalition like in May 2012 or January 2015. *Many Trotskyist parties, such as the Workers' Party of Uruguay, usually obtain less than 1000 votes in every election.{{explanation needed|reason=is there a correlation between votes and testimonial?|date=March 2023}}

==See also== * Protest party * Single-issue politics *Abstentionism

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Testimonial Party}} Category:Political terminology Category:Proportional representation electoral systems